


We're Not Who You Think

by TrappingLightningBugs



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: (against hybrids), Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Discrimination, Enemies to Lovers, Hybrids, Krystal is the head of the group of hybrids and will cut you, M/M, Polyamorous Character, Roommates, Sehun is an idiot and Jongin doesn't know how to face his problems, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 03:39:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8952406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrappingLightningBugs/pseuds/TrappingLightningBugs
Summary: Sehun scrambled through his roommate survey questions, as he had left them until the last moment, not realizing he had set up the rest of his first year at uni with the answer to one question: Preference toward hybrid roommates (Indifferent).





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Maknae Rulez Round 3, for oceanoversea. I hope you enjoy ^^  
> \- (also there's a guide at the end for the hybrid types, but it contains a spoiler or two, technically, so it's there, but I would suggest only checking if absolutely necessary)

When the time came to consider his choices of the past year, his attention fell to the innocuous “roommate survey” that his university used to assign him a dorm room. He had been awake for around 20 hours at that point, falling asleep on the lower mattress that pulled out from under his best friend in the entire world’s bed, when he suddenly remembered he only had until midnight to fill out the survey. 

Chanyeol had proceeded to laugh at him in that stupid, throaty way of his as he scrambled through the questions, clicking through it with an honesty that most people didn’t dare use on those surveys. 

“Messy,” “Late to rise, late to bed,” “Nonsmoking,” “Pro going out” and finally “Indifferent” when asked about hybrids. 

Sehun fell asleep shortly after and paid the questionnaire no more thought until his freshmen orientation when, to keep from falling asleep, his gaze traveled around the auditorium, looking for who he could possibly be sharing living arrangements with for the coming year. 

They hadn’t even given him a name for his roommate, so he would have to wait until move in day. 

The anticipation killed him a bit, especially since Chanyeol’s university back home gave them the names and contact information, so when the day came for him to move in, he had to fight not to race ahead, not wanting to look like an idiot to his new dorm mates. 

Forced into a calmer pace, itching to go faster, Sehun instead spent the walk taking in the people who would be sharing the hall with him; all different kinds, some loud, some neat, some rude and fascinating. 

When Sehun reached his room, his heart leapt as he noticed the door hanging ajar, the soft chords of some gentle classical music floating out. 

Sehun inhaled carefully; something about the sonorous tones still in the air, the way they hung in the air like the aural representation of sunbeams made the little hairs on his arms stand on end. It stood to reason that they would put him with someone who shared his major, but as he was undeclared, he couldn’t believe the odds of living with someone who loved classical music enough to break their new home in with it. 

Stepping over the threshold, onto the scrubby gray carpet that likely would see more in its one little room than he would in his entire life, he glanced around the small compartment, taking in the twin sides of the room. 

It contained two beds, two dressers, two desks, and two armoires against the same wall as the door. One side had posters pinned up to it already, likely with the regulation sticky tack, a laptop on the one desk playing the music he had heard from outside. 

A boy lounged on the taken bed, sunlight streaming in through the window so he appeared to glow, his eyes closed in the golden light. Sehun took the time to examine him, as he appeared to be sleeping: He had handsome, statuesque features, and black hair that curled reverently down his temples. 

Sehun hated the thought of waking him, but he had deliberately arrived later to move in to avoid the rush, and his shoulders ached from carrying all of his luggage. He had tried to cut back, but he couldn’t leave his laptop, or speakers, or external hard drive… 

Maybe he had a problem, but rather than waste another moment thinking about that, he dropped his stuff at the foot of his bed, before moving to reverently lay his laptop bag on his desk. 

He knew his mother would scold him for not making his bed first—or dusting, considering how many dust motes floated in the air—but he had to make it feel like home first. 

Setting his laptop on the flat of the desk, he smiled a bit, trying to bite back the nerves at leaving it within reach of a stranger. They wouldn’t be strangers for too long, he could only hope; worrying about stuff he _would have_ to leave laying around would exhaust him. 

He grabbed his surge protector, then went looking for an outlet, pleased to discover that the room had two visible on his side, though it looked like he might have some issues keeping his phone charging next to him on his bed at night. 

Just as he leaned over to plug in his surge protector beneath his desk, the boy spoke, causing him to jump and hit his head on the underside. 

“There’s another outlet behind the headboard.” 

Groaning, Sehun flicked on the surge protector, then climbed out, straightening to his full height as he turned back to face his roommate. 

Lazy eyes stared at him, and Sehun wondered if he had woken him, or if the boy had ever truly been sleeping. 

“Thanks,” he replied cautiously, walking over to move his bed slightly away from the wall, “I’m Sehun, by the way. Oh Sehun.” 

And when the boy replied “Kim Jongin,” Sehun found himself mouthing it, though it was a completely typical name in so many ways. 

Jongin sat up then, shoulders hunching, and his hand went up to fix the beanie on top of his head, Sehun quickly looking away, annoyed at himself for staring a bit too long. 

“What’s your major?” He quickly asked instead, to cover up his faux pax. 

“Visual and Performing Arts with a concentration in Dance.” 

Sehun’s heart nearly stopped. When Jongin returned the question, he could only mutter “undecided for now,” not missing the boy’s sympathetic hum, grateful he didn’t try to replicate the encouraging words his parents had been shoving down his throat. 

He considered comparing schedules, but his heart felt notably heavier than it had moments before, so he let the silence congeal between them, Jongin laying back down, not moving to breach it. 

That too was comforting, and Sehun almost told him so, though he knew better than to speak up again if he wanted the quiet to linger. Instead, he finished unpacking his stuff, even going so far as to make his bed, though the sheets were tucked sloppily. He thought he might have heard Jongin snort when he backed away from it, but a glance toward the boy revealed nothing. 

Sehun considered going down to the dining hall, but he had eaten before his brother had dropped him off, and while the occupied room felt vaguely claustrophobic, he couldn’t imagine going into a strange place where he knew nothing and no one. He had been so young when he first started school, but he knew he had managed to make friends. Older Sehun might not have that easy skill anymore, after so many years. 

Eventually, his indecision pulled him onto his bed, and he laid back against the messy sheets that still smelled like home, just listening to his roommate’s music until he felt himself drifting off into a nap. 

\-- 

His consciousness pulled back into reality with the same gentleness that he had fallen asleep with, Sehun blinking open his eyes and rubbing at them. For a long moment he wondered why he couldn’t hear the television in the background, before his location came back to him, and he shot up in bed, remembering he had school the next morning and that no light spilled in from around the blinds that had been pulled over the window. 

“Shit.” He whispered, not wanting to wake up his roommate. 

But after casting a quick glance at Jongin’s bed, he noticed that the other wasn’t in the room at all. 

Jumping out of bed, wincing at the whines from his stomach, he grabbed for his smartphone and clicked it on, squinting in the bright light as he read the time. 

22:32. He had slept a hell of a long time, but at least he didn’t have an hour or two before his classes. 

Now that he had time to breathe, he stretched, cracking his back and his neck, wondering if he would have to go hungry until morning. The cafeteria definitely wouldn’t be open this time of night, but he would bet that the building had vending machines that he could get something from. 

Creeping out into the hallway, not bothering to lock the door after he grabbed his wallet, Sehun set out for the elevators, noting with interest that some other doors were still cracked open, the quiet sounds of people talking and laughing coming from a few of them. 

Sehun nearly smiled, but instead bit down on his lower lip, passing with added attention to make sure he didn’t make any noticeable sounds. He would have to talk to them eventually if he didn’t want to live this year in near isolation, but his obnoxiously long nap had put him in a weird mood, where he felt almost like the ghost of Oh Sehun, rather than a real person who had moved away from home. 

The quiet, aside from the voices and the sounds of a shower running, unsettled him a bit, so he quickened his pace once he passed all of the open doors, getting to the elevators with a stiffness to his movements that belayed how exposed he felt out in the hallway. 

He rode down to the lobby, unbothered by any other late night wanderers, and made his way to the cafeteria, nearly too skittish of the large room lit only by emergency lights to go toward the brightly glowing vending machines a bit further down. 

Passing by the machine that featured coffee, even though that actually sounded pretty good, he moved on to the machine with snacks and a few non-caffeinated drinks, buying himself a juice, a bag of chips, and two choco pies, wishing he could have a nice bowl of _ramyun_ instead. 

On the return trip, most of the rooms had closed their doors, so he walked quickly down the hallway toward his room, struggling to open it with his hands full. 

After a moment of repositioning his goods, he opened the door, surprised to see a lump under Jongin’s covers when the overhead light was still on. He nearly called out to him, but on the off chance that the boy could just fall asleep quickly, he bit back his words and flicked the light out, using his phone’s backlight to go and settle at his desk. 

Sehun pulled out his earbuds from one of the drawers, turning on his laptop to watch an episode of his drama while he ate, knowing he wouldn’t be able to go back to bed for a while now. 

He left the room one more time, about two hours later to go brush his teeth, and when he came back this time, Jongin was repositioned on his bed, his back to Sehun’s bed, his beanie still pulled down low over his hair. 

Frowning, Sehun stripped off his clothes and got into bed in his boxers, not feeling self-conscious as high school P.E. and a lifetime of having an older brother had taken that away a long time ago. 

His phone alarm rang at seven sharp, and he whined in the back of his throat, rolling over to grope for his phone. After going to school so early for years, Sehun had assumed waking up at seven would feel like heaven compared to when he had to wake for high school, but he had gotten a little too much sleep over his summer break, and in the previous night, so his head ached, and his eyes felt swollen, like he had spent the night crying. 

Forcing himself to sit up, he ran a hand up through his messy, dark hair, and glanced over at Jongin’s side of the room, surprised to see his bed made, his bag and laptop gone. 

Sehun wondered for a moment if Jongin’s first impression of him had gone badly, but he shook those concerns off; it was his first day of university, and he hadn’t had time to insult or upset the other yet. Unless his late night shenanigans kept him up. 

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stumbled over to the closet, body still clogged with sleep even if his mind had woken fully up. He threw on an old, soft green t-shirt with an alt-rock band’s logo barely visible on it anymore and his usual pair of blue jeans, dressing faster when he thought about the breakfast waiting for him downstairs. 

The rush almost convinced him to go downstairs without brushing his teeth, but his very full bladder reminded him that he had to visit the bathroom anyway. 

Brushing his teeth and peeing went faster than he would have expected, Sehun not making eye contact with any of the other guys in the bathroom or hallway, before going back to his room for his stuff. 

He quickly packed up his laptop, checked to make sure he had his wallet and ID, then nearly left without his key, jumping back inside before the door shut to retrieve it. 

The elevator down had a few people already inside, but no one from his floor, so he kept quiet, staring straight ahead as he tried not to breathe in the horrid morning breath of those around him. 

All of them left at the lobby, Sehun checking the time to see if he could have a full breakfast, or if he only had time for a quick bowl of rice. 

Heading over to the line, unhappy that it seemed like less would win out that morning, he did a quick head scan of the cafeteria, vaguely surprised that Jongin wasn’t there, either. He must have gone for a run, or to the campus already. 

Sehun didn’t want to stick to his roommate through everything, but it honestly would have made him feel a little less out of place if he knew one face to sit with. 

Walking through the line took longer than he would have liked, and by the time he finally managed to pay for his bowl of rice, he had about ten minutes to eat it before he had to go to the bus stop—less if he didn’t want to make a _run_ for the bus stop. 

Unhappily inhaling his food, Sehun nearly choked before he turned the bowl back in, setting out at a quick pace to catch the bus to campus. His first class started in about an hour and he had no idea how long the bus might take. 

Undeterred, Sehun sat on his phone for the entirety of the bus ride, ignoring those that got on and off around him, even when another person sat next to him, until said person started blasting music in his ear buds so loudly that Sehun could easily hear the vocals of the soloist Ailee coming through. 

Repressing a snort, he nearly spoke to the boy, who unsurprisingly looked his age, but then realized someone didn’t have music that loudly if they wanted to talk to other people. 

Casting the boy a regretful glance, he went back to his phone, fighting off the urge to memorize his face on the off chance that they might see each other in a class. 

He jumped off the bus near the administration office, figuring the correct building had to be around there, though he discovered it was up a large portion of the mountain. 

Sehun found the building easily, though he wheezed under his breath most of the way, entering the class with five minutes to spare until the professor was due to begin, though she had already arrived. Students filled most of the seats, many of them clumped together, likely locals that had gone to the closest college to home. 

Thankfully most of the circles had a ring of empty seats around them, and he made his way over to the quieter group of boys in the back, most wearing the heavy under-eye bags that also adorned his face. It seemed like they would be a good bet to blend in to, as even though this class took place in a theater classroom, all but two of them had tried to fit their laptops on to the pathetic little attached desks. 

Smiling to himself at that, though he would be doing the exact same thing in a moment, he slumped into a seat, managing to just get his word document open as the teacher started class. 

He tried to pay attention; he really did. Sehun managed to fill his word doc with notes, but he also only managed to stay awake by playing solitaire on the other side of the screen at the same time. 

When class finally ended, he had to bite back a groan of relief, though he knew it was short lived; a three-hour class like that might be only once a week, but he could easily see it becoming his main antagonist, as he hated history and it was the class he had to wake up for on Mondays. 

Packing up his stuff, he double checked his map discreetly, trying to remember where the nearest eatery was located, and if he had time to stop there before his next class. 

The café happened to be directly in between the buildings he needed to move between, so he set out with the kind of skip to his step that could only come from the promise of food, hand clenching his laptop case’s strap to keep it from bouncing against his hip too hard. Sehun already had a bruise there from his laptop, embarrassingly enough. 

It was this one-minded focus that had him reacting, rather than freezing, when someone yelled “heads up!” 

Seeing a black and white ball coming for his head, his hands shot up and he snatched it out of the air before it could nail him in the nose, glancing past it to see where it had come from. 

“Hey!” A guy called loudly, striding toward him, “Sorry man, didn’t mean to hit you.” 

Sehun shrugged; it hadn’t, after all, and he threw the ball back to him. 

The man caught it, then studied him for a moment. “Say, we’re looking for an extra, if you’d be up for some futbol?” 

“I have a class in a half an hour.” He replied apologetically, “Or I would.” 

The man offered him a wide smile, all gums, “Then come play for twenty. We’re usually here around lunch time, so we’re used to not having too much time.” 

Not knowing how to turn that down, and honestly not wanting to, Sehun followed the man when he turned around, taking in his mop of messy, light brown hair with interest. Guys back home didn’t really dye their hair, and though you saw that with the idols and actors, most regular guys seemed like they wouldn’t. 

“You get lost?” Yelled one guy. 

“More like I got your sorry team a goalie,” the man called when he reached a little cluster of guys, some running in place, a few others on their phones, “With Taekwoon in goal, we might as well be shooting at a noodle. And that’s no fun.” 

One man snorted angrily, but that was all the response the guy that led him over got. Sehun blinked, then went to set his laptop bag next to the pile on his team’s side of the field, as one guy nodded in acquiescence to his joining. 

Jogging over after he set his things down, the one that seemed to be in charge of his new team introduced them all, though Sehun’s head spun a bit too much to remember any of them. He just hoped that as goalie he could get by with remembering their faces. 

Most of his time in goal was spent defending, over and over, as his team seemed much better at attacking than defending, though Sehun didn’t mind all too much; he couldn’t remember the last time he had actually played a sport for fun, and these guys all seemed like casual players, rather than actual athletes. 

Before he knew it, the shorter man who had initially brought him over called out that it was getting close to one o’clock, and Sehun breathed a sigh of sadness, to his own surprise, though he wasn’t the only one that headed for their things. 

The shorter man was one of them, and he reached Sehun’s pile quickly enough that he redacted his assertion that none of them were athletes. 

“Hey, good game.” He greeted Sehun, “I’m Minseok.” 

Sehun gave his name in return, the man then continuing, “We play around lunch time every day except Wednesdays. There are too many of us missing on Wednesdays for more than one on one. You’re welcome to stop by if you ever have time.” 

Excitement pricked at him, but Sehun replied with a cool smile, promising he’d take him up on the offer in the future. 

Minseok left after that, patting him strongly on the back, and Sehun watched him go for a moment, noting his muscular legs and arms, wondering if he actually played for the university. He couldn’t quite tell if that made him a professional or not, but the other had the appearance of someone who cared a lot, even if he couldn’t match the performance. 

He headed to his only other class that day after that, it passing without much incident, though the science lecture was a lot more aggressively boring than his history lecture—until they got to the lab portion. He actually did begin to enjoy himself, then, as his partner, an older student named Taemin, spent the majority of his time cracking dry jokes that had Sehun struggling to keep a straight face. 

By the time he had to scramble to reach the bus, not wanting to wait another fifteen minutes when he had about a half an hour to sit on the ride, an unconscious smile had settled across his face, Sehun beginning to believe that he could carve out a place for himself in university. 

However, that didn’t stop the swoop of nerves in his stomach when he arrived back at his dorm hungry, the roaring of voices coming from the dining hall much louder than they had been at breakfast. 

Sehun’s palms began to sweat as he reached for his wallet, drawing out his ID card to shove into his pocket for easy access. The thought of having to scramble for it at the head of the line, hundreds of eyes staring at him, made him want to simultaneously die and break his own jaw with his bare hands. 

He clearly needed more sleep after everything else. 

But he got the biggest shock of the day when he moved to cross the cafeteria and he finally spotted his roommate perched on the edge of a chair, laughing loudly at something a very pretty redhead was saying to him. 

Eyes resting on Jongin’s face and the way it lit up with mirth, he nearly bowled someone over, and he stopped to bow apologetically to them, before he forced his gaze back to his former destination, fighting the urge to look back at his roommate. 

Sehun grabbed a bowl of _samgyetang,_ nostalgic for the summer nights he had left behind, some kimchi, and a bottle of water, forcing his eyes away from the dessert table, vowing that he would try to eat healthy, like he had promised his mother. 

Feeling a bit better as he paid, wondering if he could sit with his roommate now that they were both down there, he strode back toward the tables, gaze sweeping the air to look for the shock of red hair. 

Locating her, he grinned and started for the table, eyes shifting to Jongin, though this time he didn’t try to hide it. 

And this time, he noticed the perky pair of cat ears atop the girl’s head—though that came a moment too late to stop them from noticing his approach. 

Jongin’s bright smile faded, an expression crossing his face in its stead that Sehun couldn’t interpret, before it settled on a more guarded smile. 

“Sehun,” his roommate nodded to him, eyes flickering toward the woman, “Sorry, I was just leaving.” 

Hurt flashed through Sehun, but he covered it up quickly, nodding to his roommate as the girl turned around, her ears perked up as she smiled warmly at him. 

“You’re welcome to sit with me, if you like.” Her voice was bright, warm, and Sehun already found himself enjoying it, after Jongin’s cold greeting. 

Normally he would have come up with some excuse or other to not have to sit with the hybrid girl, but after Jongin’s dismissal, he kind of wanted the company of someone so welcoming. 

“Sure,” he smiled gently at her, “I’m Oh Sehun, Jongin’s roommate.” 

“I know,” she laughed, gesturing at the rather disgruntled looking boy, “I’m Jongin’s guide. My name is Heo Solji.” 

Surprised his roommate would get a hybrid guide, he dipped his head respectfully, sensing she would be older than him. 

“Solji,” Jongin started, voice a little tight. 

She waved him off. “Don’t worry, I won’t scare him!” Solji laughed, “Go off and start your homework.” 

She sounded so motherly for a moment that Sehun nearly reached for his own textbooks, but instead he turned once more to look at Jongin, wishing he could find out what he had done to elicit such a reaction. 

But Jongin didn’t look at him; he bowed slightly to Solji, then headed out, bag swinging with his long steps. 

Sehun watched him go, hoping his expression didn’t give away the sinking sensation he felt in his gut, before he turned back to Solji, grabbing his spoon. 

Her food appeared mostly eaten, so he began to eat ravenously, not looking up as she chuckled. 

After a few bites, his manners came back, and he asked after wiping his mouth, “What year are you?” 

“Junior. I’m studying Botanical Sciences.” She ate daintily, the action strangely…catlike in nature. 

“Oh, that’s cool. Why plants?” He preened a little bit at knowing ‘botanical.’ 

Solji shrugged, “I saw some documentaries a few years back, and I think modifying food so it’s better for people and the planet seems like a pretty righteous way to spend my time.” 

When Sehun just stared at her, she started laughing. 

“I’m kidding! Well, mostly.” She went for another bite of her dinner, then continued, “I want to be able to help the hungry and places that have a hard time growing enough food for everyone. And GMOs are really cool, but it also feels like people don’t look into the side effects enough.” Solji gave him an encouraging smile when she noticed he was still listening, “And if you want something done right, no point complaining if you can do it yourself.” 

Sehun found himself taking to her, warming up to her despite the fact his attention never drifted too far from her ears. 

“I wish I would have known where to sign up for a guide.” He sighed, “This place is so big, I feel like I could genuinely never find my way back to my dorm if I made a wrong turn.” 

Solji smiled indulgently. “Well, if you have a day off, I could show you around, if you really wanted? I promised Jongin I would show him around tomorrow, since he only has an early class.” 

Sehun whipped out his phone as she spoke, checking his own schedule. Ironically, he had an early class, and also one around four. 

“Would you be going right after his morning class?” He looked at her, expression calm, though his pulse pounded in his ears, determination setting his gaze as he vowed to get to the bottom of Jongin’s strange behavior. 

She thought about it for a moment. “We hadn’t set an exact time, but I can’t see that time being a problem. I’ll text him about it and let you know?” 

He agreed, then passed over his phone so she could enter her number into it, Sehun calling her to put his number in hers as well. 

When he finished, she had just eaten her last bite of dinner, and had stood up to go take her dirty dishes up to the counter. 

“Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.” Solji smiled at him one last time, turning to leave after Sehun called his hopeful reply back. 

Solji took her dirty dishes up to the counter, then turned and headed out of the cafeteria, to Sehun’s disappointment, though he likely wouldn’t have been able to avoid bringing up her ears for much longer. She seemed so normal for someone who technically wasn’t a human, it made his head spin. 

Shaking those thoughts off, Sehun picked up his chopsticks and spoon, then took his tray up to the dirty dishes counter, wondering if he would see Jongin in the room, or if he headed somewhere else when he had finished dinner. 

On his way up, he checked his text messages, replying to Chanyeol about his confusing new roommate, and how he swore Jongin hated him already, but apparently that he was friendly with a hybrid girl. The reply came immediately: 

_> But is she hot_

_> What kind of question is that??? She’s a cat man_

_> And she’s a girl too, dickwad_

Sehun snorted, tucked his phone away, not wanting to think about someone sleeping with Solji. It felt kind of gross to think about someone sleeping with a cat hybrid even though she sounded like any other older, education-focused girl he’d talked to. With porn and adverts, he just couldn’t see having a healthy, proper relationship with a hybrid. There was just too much gray area when it came to how “human” they were, and how much was just an act. 

When he reached his room, his exhaustion crashed down over him, and he pushed his way inside, facial features falling as he took in the empty room. There was no hint that Jongin had even come back since that morning. 

He let out a heavy sigh, resisted the urge to lock the door, since it automatically locked, and began to strip off his clothes, hands ripping at his shirt and jeans with a viciousness beget by the basic, inherent failure to make his roommate like him. Sehun couldn’t convince himself that his roommate was just never home, but he also refused to think about what he had done wrong. 

After having to angrily redress for a shower, not wanting to walk down the hall of his floor in his boxers, Sehun plopped down at his laptop and turned on some Shostakovich as he attempted to find a way back into his roommate survey, needing to know if he had marked his sexuality, if maybe that was why Jongin wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn’t remember seeing the details about his roommate, but he genuinely couldn’t think of another thing that might have set him off. Even if he had rummaged around in Sehun’s stuff, there was nothing incriminating enough to completely piss off the other in just two days. 

Just in case, he searched, went through his profile, his school account, his physical stuff, and finally, his facebook. 

Sehun first checked the pictures, and while a lot of his tagged pictures weren’t the most _flattering_ (privatizing his facebook, asap), they were mostly him making stupid faces, or with his family. 

But in his information section, right under “interested in,” it said ‘men,’ and Sehun swore loudly. 

From the time he had figured out that he didn’t care for girls, Sehun never lied to anyone about who and what he liked—people could try to beat him up, but he towered over most of the kids in his high school, and where he lacked muscle, Chanyeol could knock some heads together if he needed to protect his best friend. 

Back in those days, those that minded had the buffer of school between him and his personal life, so he never spared homophobes a second glance; but here, he had to share a room with someone who must have looked him up. 

Biting his lower lip slightly, he steeled himself, ready to stage a confrontation when Jongin would come back. Because he had to come back eventually—not even he could have a friend to stay with so soon. 

Sehun set up camp, turning off the light as he settled in bed with his laptop to catch up on his episodes of a girl group competition show that he hadn’t had time to watch with his frantic last minute packing. 

He watched the entire two-hour episode without pause, eyes starting to burn, and he moved to one of his text books, shifting from that, to text Chanyeol, to YouTube videos, until his digital clock blinked midnight, his phone buzzing with a text about ten minutes later. 

_Heo Solji_

_> hey, sorry for the last minute, but we’re going to have to reschedule! Let me know when else you’re free this week _

Stomach sinking, Sehun knew Jongin had something to do with this, and while he texted Solji back that he understood, anger and hurt swirled in his stomach. He had to confront his roommate about this mess. Hopefully he could make him see reason, so he wouldn’t have to start the dreaded roommate transfer process. 

Going to bed and rising with no Jongin in sight, he stomped down to the cafeteria, buying a granola bar and an apple to eat on the bus, fuming too much to sit and eat an actual meal. Even while waiting for the bus involved more pacing than eating, and when it pulled up, he settled with the utmost reluctance, staring out the window of his seat with a grimness that he hated feeling on his second day of classes. 

Like the last time, the same boy with his earbuds in settled in next to him, Sehun wondering what about him exuded intimidation to everyone except him. 

This time his music thundered with a heavy bassline, and he found his lips curling up into a humorless smile at how well it fit his own mood. 

He didn’t realize he was staring until a pair of eyes turned to meet his, the eyes stabbing into him as the boy’s face finally came into focus. 

Sehun found himself involuntarily holding his breath as the boy snapped, “Can I help you?” 

_Handsome,_ Sehun thought with an unfortunate pang, _Everyone who hates me is so damn hot._

“I—uh.” He swallowed, “You sat here yesterday, too.” 

Without responding, the boy went to stand, head craning to look around. 

“Wait!” Sehun panicked, reaching out, though he sensed touching the other wouldn’t be welcome, “I wasn’t trying to call you out, I just liked your music.” 

The boy stopped, looking down at him with flashing eyes, before snorting under his breath and sinking back down into the seat. “You need to learn better social cues, kid.” 

Sehun didn’t bristle, and instead fired back, “You don’t exactly look older than me.” 

His expression was unimpressed. “What if I was held back?” 

When Sehun didn’t answer, his lips quirked up into a mocking smile. “I’m a freshman. And I’ve never been held back.” 

Shooting him an unimpressed look, Sehun introduced himself, then quickly asked what song had been playing when he called him out. 

The boy, still unnamed, checked his phone and told him, both of them launching into a discussion of Korean bands, the boy slowly growing (slightly) less snooty as Sehun held his own. 

The half an hour passed easily with their rapid-fire conversation, and when the bus pulled up to the gate, Sehun was both relieved and disappointed; he liked his prickly bus companion. 

And unlike Jongin, at least he had been given a chance to prove himself. 

\-- 

His first class of the day was a huge prerequisite psychology class, something that had Sehun rolling his eyes, knowing he would end up sleeping through the class if someone didn’t stop him. 

He knew he could make a friend or something to make the class more tolerable, but he found his quieter side winning out this time as he moved to one of the last seats in the far back, uncaring that he would only be able to see the powerpoints. 

Sehun pulled out his laptop, signing in with a small frown, hoping he would at least take notes, though social media already called to him. 

Forcing himself to look away so he wouldn’t click to Instagram, he found a familiar face in his sights, Jongin striding to the front of the room, sitting directly in front of the professor. 

A snort escaped unbidden as he filed away Jongin’s commitment to his classes, envying him a bit. Being the kind of student that could sit at the front of class, actively forcing himself to pay attention for the whole semester, seemed too good to be true in these kind of classes, and he could respect the man, though his lighthearted emotions were overshadowed by the knowledge that this class was his chance to talk to Jongin—especially since it seemed like he hadn’t seen Sehun. 

Once the lecture started, Sehun fought to pay attention, it actually partially working as Jongin loved to raise his hand, and his attention was never too far from the other. 

When class ended, he already had his conversation starter prepared, Sehun approaching the other as soon as he stood up, too afraid that he would slip past him to wait. 

“I don’t know why you’re even taking this class since you know it all already.” 

Jongin startled, turning around to look at him. For a moment, the expression that crossed his face seemed less than thrilled to see him, but it disappeared so quickly that Sehun could barely process it. 

“I read some psych books over the summer.” Jongin replied after a moment, tone aloof. 

“So you would be a good person to study with then?” 

Sehun’s grin felt unnatural after mere moments of silence, his face feeling brittle, like Jongin could take a metaphorical hammer and still crush him into pieces. 

“I guess.” Jongin left a long pause between the two words, then turned to go past Sehun, who followed easily after him, as he had expected him to try to make a break for the exit. 

“Are you free anytime Friday?” 

“Oh, I’m kind of busy Fridays.” Jongin replied with a slight frown. 

“Wednesday?” 

“Dunno.” 

Sehun felt his sanity—and his chance to win his roommate over—slipping away, and he finally blurted out, “What did I do?” 

Jongin sent a single, panicked glance at him, then hurried on ahead, his refusal to acknowledge Sehun’s last question too bare-faced for the man to keep trying. 

That night, unprecedented with no advice to guide his hand, he left a sticky note on Jongin’s pillow, simply with the words “I’m sorry” written on it in shaky handwriting, ashamed of their own existence. 

\-- 

The next day on the bus, the boy told him point blank that he looked like shit, and Sehun found himself slumping a little further against the bus seat. 

After a moment of silence, the boy seemed to hesitate, before commenting, “You never asked my name.” 

Sehun just looked at him. “What’s your name?” 

“Fuck you.” The boy cracked a crooked, catlike smile when that made Sehun laugh quietly. “It’s Jongdae.” 

At least he didn’t fail with everyone he met. 

Part of him ached at the thought that someone so instantly captivating hated him, even though he knew nothing about Jongin, even though his feelings likely came from one wrong step, or his homosexuality, things Sehun had no control over, but he forced himself to shove those thoughts aside in lieu of the strange, captivating smile of his bus friend. He could make friends aside from Chanyeol, and even though guilt ate at him for being different, he ignored it in favor of debating with Jongdae, trying not to think how close the name came to Jongin’s. 

\-- 

Crossing the campus around lunch time, a bit too despondent to find the guys playing soccer, his gaze wandered between the people passing him and the map he tried to have discreetly up on his phone, searching for the cafeteria with the fast food place. Sehun hungered for something a little more processed, his breakfast having been especially meager that morning, and he ignored everything he couldn’t run into, until he swore he took a wrong turn. Then, he spotted a group of hybrids perched on a set of stairs, Jongin leaning against one who he would have called pretty if she didn’t have a pair of rounded ears poking out of the sides of her head. 

He nearly came to a stop, but when he noticed Solji eating out of a to-go bowl, Sehun worked up the courage to head over, though when the numerous pairs of eyes came to rest on him, two decidedly not friendly, he felt like he would melt into the ground before he could reach her. 

His attention went to Jongin, but he found his greeting drying up as he went to speak the words, Sehun looking dutifully down at the steps as he went up them, vowing just to get lunch inside. 

Swiping his ID card, he walked inside to grab his designated tray of food, before going to sit off on his own, not wanting to head back outside. 

Thankfully a lot of the students were eating alone, so he didn’t feel too lame sitting on his phone at his own table, scrolling through grindr, kind afraid to swipe right on the off chance more people would send him dick pictures in public. 

Sighing at a particularly ridiculous photo, he reached to take another spoonful of his soup, when he made eye contact with Jongin from across the room, his roommates’s eyes holding a clarity and purpose that made Sehun’s hand come to a dumb halt in midair. 

By the time he reached the table, Jongin looked uncertain, unable to meet Sehun’s eyes. But before Sehun could ask him about the purpose of the visit, he blurted out, “We can study together if you want.” 

Sehun waited for an apology, but after a few long seconds of silence, he accepted that he probably wouldn’t get one directly. 

“What made you change your mind?” He asked instead. 

Jongin hesitated, then shrugged, “I figured it couldn’t hurt.” 

That didn’t feel like an answer, but Sehun didn’t push him, instead electing to smile and plan to meet up later that night, in their room. 

The rest of the day passed normally, though he admittedly was in a better mood now that Jongin’s issue with him had apparently resolved. 

After his class later in the day, he took the bus back to his dorm, leg bouncing eagerly against the platform beneath his seat. He had no fantasies about impressing Jongin with his psychological skills, but somehow he knew that if they just spent time together with no pressure, they had to at least get along. Even though he never made too much of an effort to make friends, people never actively disliked him, and this blatant almost allergic reaction to him had made his stomach swim with unhappiness. 

Arriving back at the dorm, he raced up to his room, only to stop in his tracks when he saw Jongin letting himself into their room, having witnessed his running. Instead of looking put off or annoyed, however, he looked amused, like his laughter was put off only for the sake of appearances. 

“After you.” He held open the door for a rapidly-blushing Sehun. 

Pressing past him, he dumped his bag on his bed, then drew out his laptop and textbook, thinking about where he could best take notes. 

Jongin took one look at his things and shook his head. “If you have a notebook, you should use that instead. If you have to recopy it, you’ll remember it better.” 

Unsure how legit that sounded, Sehun still nodded slightly, putting his computer on his desk, then drew out a notebook. 

They just reviewed the stuff from the prior class, so it didn’t take more than twenty minutes, though Sehun did keep cracking jokes in between sections, Jongin’s lips twitching as he fought to keep their momentum going. 

“I don’t know where they get these pictures,” Sehun started, staring down an awkward image of a man gesturing violently to himself, but Jongin interrupted him. 

“I hate how outdated some of this is.” 

It seemed unconscious, and the boy’s lip curled slightly with disgust, hands tensing where they held his pen and book. 

Sehun blinked, “What’s inaccurate?” And how would a freshman know that? 

“The...” Jongin fell silent, and Sehun found himself scouring the page. 

“The part where it talks about women being unfairly taken to asylums in the past?” He guessed. 

Jongin just shrugged, and Sehun found himself moving over to him, needing to break through this strange stance, even if his nerves had him wanting to stay still and move on. 

After he resettled, Sehun coaxed, “Whatever it is, if it needs changed, maybe you could start it? Message some people here, pose research questions.” 

The man looked at him for a moment, then offered him a sad smile. “It doesn’t work like that.” 

“Well, it should.” 

Sehun moved back to his things. “And maybe someday soon more people will think the way you do. Every generation tries to get more progressive, it seems.” 

Jongin leaned heavily back against his chair, and while Sehun could tell he disagreed, he didn’t speak up again until they finished covering the chapter. 

“Are you hungry?” Jongin questioned after they both stretched. Once Sehun nodded, he offered, “Want to head down to the cafeteria?” 

He nodded again, and they set out, silence settling over the pair of them comfortably, even though the urge to speak poked its head up every now and again. 

Jongin seemed fine with the quiet, eyes on something in the distance, taking in students bustling to and from who knows where, the cool breeze ruffling both of their hair. Sehun knew he was staring, but he couldn’t stop; for the first time since he had left home, it seemed like everything would really be okay. 

Forcing his attention to the building numbers in a futile attempt to both remember them and get his attention off of Jongin, he finally lost his battle to keep from speaking up, and he asked, “So what inaccuracy pissed you off so much?” 

When silence met his question, he wondered if he had fucked up their nice moment, before Jongin answered quietly, “They do biased surveys against hybrids.” 

Sehun blinked, wanting to challenge Jongin about how he knew about the fake statistics, but he assumed that came from all of his hybrid friends, so he instead stayed silent, his inquisitive gaze on his roommate to see if he would say anything else. 

Jongin didn’t disappoint, “They say they’re more prone to personality disorders. But that things aren’t really so conclusive, because “that’s just the way of some animals.”” 

His voice had dropped to a rather bitter tenor, and Sehun frowned sympathetically. 

Feeling like he should say something, he agreed, “It doesn’t seem fair that they’re just assuming, rather than checking. They could help hybrids if they really knew about their mental health.” 

Jongin’s attention resettled on him, surprise plain on his face, and Sehun shifted nervously, then continued, “I mean, I’ve never had a hybrid, so I’m not really sure how all of that works. But if they think like humans, they deserve the same treatments.” 

Jongin looked away then, a slight, thoughtful frown on his lips. 

“You’re exactly right.” He finally said, before offering Sehun a nod. 

Joy rose in him, relieved he had said something right, and he asked, wanting to keep the conversation going, “Do you have a hybrid back home?” 

“No.” 

Sehun blinked; the word was said so quickly, but also like Jongin had to repress a current of laughter when he said it. 

“Are you an activist?” 

“Yes, I suppose so.” Jongin paused, weighing something, before continuing, “The people you saw me with today, most of them are. I’m not the best at campaigning, but they get you really fired up when they start talking.” 

“I was wondering about that.” Sehun commented, “Are they nice? Besides Solji I mean.” 

Nodding, Jongin said, “They’re not the fondest of humans, but they’re all good people.” 

“But they let you hang out with them?” 

“I’m, uh, a special case.” 

Sehun noted that something was a bit strange in how he spoke, but he got the impression that he shouldn’t push. 

“Anyway, I think that’s good for tonight.” Jongin transitioned, going to pack his things up. “Let me know if you want to study again sometime.” 

“Definitely.” Sehun nearly laughed at the strange formality—like they weren’t going to remain in the room together for a semester. 

And they stayed amicable; Jongin was often still gone in the mornings before Sehun woke up, but now after classes he could say a safe fifty percent of the time he could find Jongin in their room after 19:00. He still had no clue what had put Jongin off of him initially, but frankly, he was just glad they had reached some form of acceptance with each other. 

Their study sessions were Sehun’s favorite; he could forget about the accusing eyes of Jongin’s hybrid friends, how the one with the heavy eyeliner would laugh mockingly whenever his back would turn, and how no matter how much he made Jongin smile, that some topics were still evaded with a skill that left him floundering. 

Stupidly, he tended to bring up his worries to Jongdae, as he never saw the boy anywhere else besides the bus, and although the boy was never sympathetic, Sehun kind of depended on that. 

“Maybe he has an elicit lover that died in a car crash or some shit.” 

Sehun gave him a flat look as Jongdae scrolled through his music list, not even looking up. 

“I somehow doubt that.” 

“But you don’t know.” Jongdae’s lips curled up into a mocking smirk, “That’s exactly the point, isn’t it?” 

Sehun leaned his head back heavily against the bus seat, sighing loudly. “Why do you have to be the worst at all times?” 

“It’s my talent.” Jongdae shrugged, “But if confronting him won’t work, why not try surprising him? Go home early, make sure he thinks you’re not supposed to be around, or get him drunk. Cliché it is, but hey, if it works, it works.” 

“What if he doesn’t drink?” Sehun ignored the unimpressed look Jongdae shot him, “No, seriously! How do normal people get others to open up to them?” 

“Fuck, I don’t know, actually be a friend to them?” Jongdae deadpanned, not reacting when Sehun swatted his shoulder. “I’m serious. If you don’t want to try to ‘cheat code it,’ which by the way is an awful phrase, thank you for introducing me to it—then you need to wait. See if he actually likes you enough to talk to you about it.” 

“But I’m—” 

“Not the best at making friends?” Jongdae snorted, “Yeah, I know. But honestly you’ll win more points if you’re a genuinely good friend to him. As should the way of the world be.” 

He reached into his bag to pull out a carton of banana milk, poked the straw through the foil hole, and then began to drink aggressively, the straw making slurping noises. 

“How do you have friends?” Sehun countered. 

Jongdae pulled back from his milk and batted his eyelashes. “Weirdos like you and boys that love my mouth. Take your pick.” 

Sehun couldn’t believe he heard him right. “W-Wait, you’re…?” 

But the bus had arrived, and Jongdae moved to get out, only sending a wink back in Sehun’s direction. 

\-- 

Several attempts throughout the next few days to coax out whatever Jongin had on his mind ended in absolute failure, Sehun never resolute or daring enough to just ask him outright. Of the three times he tried, Jongin brushed him off for two of them, continuing on with what they had been talking about previously, and the third time, he stood to go to the bathroom. It baffled Sehun. 

After a certain point of evasion, he knew an offer to go drink alcohol would be too transparent, and somehow he knew that asking Jongin would likely result in him dropping back to “must be avoided” status. Jongdae didn’t want to hear it when he said he couldn’t be direct, so surprisingly, it was Chanyeol who broke through his panic, suggesting that he stop trying and see if getting closer to Jongin would allow him to finally get past the walls. Sehun wanted to get close to him for more than that, but it seemed like the only idea that could really work. 

So he began to avoid confrontational topics, only asking Jongin questions about safe topics like school and homework, and studying habits. Occasionally, piece by piece, he would learn more about Jongin—like how he had only visited Jeju island once, but he dreamed of going back, how he could eat Japanese food every night of the week, and how he really didn’t like house pets; something that Sehun laughed about to no end, considering how the only friends he ever saw him with were the hybrids. 

“Maybe he was bullied.” He suggested to Jongdae one morning, “You know? So maybe he doesn’t trust regular people.” 

Jongdae finished gulping down water from a bottle, then gave him an unimpressed look. “You sound like a bigot. Hybrids are just as emotionally diverse as we are.” 

Sehun groaned. “That’s not what I’m—there’s stigma against hybrids. Maybe that’s who he fell in with.” 

“Maybe.” Jongdae shrugged, “But that makes you an asshole for trying to drag his traumatic past out of him.” 

Seeing the truth in his words, Sehun slumped back against the seat. “Okay, fine. So I give up trying to find out…and then what?” 

“Just be his friend?” 

Feeling kind of stupid, Sehun shot the rather innocent-looking Jongdae a look, then shot Jongin a text asking about the movie night they had briefly talked about the night before. Netflix was posting their new movies for October soon, and a lot of the new coming titles sounded pretty good. 

Jongin replied in the middle of his class, saying he would be down to watch that night if they had come out by then, and Sehun skipped his lunch soccer game to sit down and attempt to do his reading for his science class so he could afford to watch movies all night. 

The day passed regularly, with Sehun’s only moment of excitement being that he missed the shuttle bus to his dorm and decided to walk up to the dormitory instead, arriving hot and pissed off at the world. Jongin had another class before he would return home, so Sehun stripped down to his boxers, then grabbed a fresh pair and a towel for the shower. Part of him wanted to saunter down to the showers like that, but he had never seen anyone else do that, and he knew bizarre things involving nudity were more telling about a person’s sexuality than nearly anything else. 

Turning on the a/c instead, he stood in front of it, arms spread wide like he would embrace the wall, then slowly rotated, before he felt cool enough to go put on a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting tank top. That screamed ‘hetero,’ right? 

Sehun went in with his one bottle of shampoo/conditioner/body wash that screamed masculine in a way that had even Chanyeol wrinkling his nose at him, and he showered quickly, the water running cold like it did sometimes. 

Heading back to his dorm, hating how his nipples chafed a bit against the tank top after being exposed to the cold water, he went to push open the door that he had left slightly propped open, only to find that Jongin had returned home and shut it. 

“Jongin!” He called, “Let me in man.” 

Silence met his words and he groaned, not even bothering to pat the pockets of his shorts for his keys—though he did grab his phone. 

_> Listen dude, if you’re masturbating in there, there are better times to do it._

He erased the message and actually sent “It’s cold out here (crying face).” 

Another minute passed, and Sehun leaned against the door, emotions settling somewhere between his concentrated discomfort from standing in his wet shower shoes, to irritation that Jongin had to be home, because no burglar would lock the door behind them…or be in a university dorm this time of day. 

Finally, the door cracked open, and Jongin at least had the decency to look embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry, I saw your stuff was gone and figured you’d be out for a while.” 

“Then why’d you close the door?” Sehun asked slowly, pushing past him to go into the room. 

Everything _looked_ relatively normal; from a glance, it seemed like Jongin had just gotten into the room himself, but that wasn’t exactly possible seeing how they had one entrance and one exit collectively. 

“I was listening to music, figured it’d be safer to close the door.” 

Sehun wheeled around to look at him, and he frowned when he saw Jongin had stuffed himself into a pair of sweat pants. “Dude it’s way too early in the year for that. And if you knew I was coming back, why would you shut the door?” 

“I figured you would text me.” Jongin snapped finally, “I’m sorry I thought you would take your phone with you and—oh look—you did! It’s not a big deal.” 

But Sehun wasn’t feeling particularly forgiving, and he snapped back, unaware that he had taken the step he swore previously he wouldn’t, “You’re keeping something from me! And not just something that doesn’t affect me, or you wouldn’t get so damn secretive. Am I wrong?” 

Jongin turned to him, a dark, dangerous expression on his face that Sehun had never seen before. Instinctively, he took a step back, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to reach the door first if something happened. 

“Stuff is your business when I make it your business, do you understand?” He growled. 

The words broke the spell, and Sehun surged forward again, noting the expression of surprise on his roommate’s face with satisfaction. 

“No. Fuck you. Either you stop acting so weird, or I’m transferring. Is that what you want? I asked you back then if you disliked me, and you know what, I don’t remember if you answered or not, but now I think I know the answer.” 

Jongin just looked at him, and the emotions on his face morphed to disgust. “Not everything is about _you._ But of course you think that way.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“It means humans are all alike.” Jongin shot back. 

“Oh, because you’re not a human?” 

And, in a sweeping sense of shock and triumph at finding out he was right, Sehun watched him yank his ever-present beanie off, unveiling two pointy, spotted cat ears up on his head. 

Sehun went still, and then, voice slightly tinny, answered himself: “No. You’re not.” 

“You shouldn’t care,” Jongin’s voice lowered to a growl, and for the first time, Sehun began to wonder if the easy, dream-like persona he normally presented had been real at all. 

“You’ve been lying to me.” Sehun protested, “Wearing that stupid hat all of the time, even to bed, never wearing shorts—I thought you told me the beanie was a gift from your mother? And you wore it all of the time because you missed her?” As hard as he tried to hold onto his anger, more and more hurt slipped out as he confronted his roommate. 

Jongin finally looked away, and Sehun noticed his pants shifting. Alarm rose in him, before he registered that it would be the man’s tail. 

After a moment, Jongin likely noticing where his attention had gone, the appendage came free and Jongin seemed to relax a bit; Sehun vaguely recalled how sensitive cat tails were, and wondered for a moment how uncomfortable it must feel to keep a body part like that hidden all of the time. 

“It was.” Jongin’s voice broke through Sehun’s pity, and his eyes had hardened again. “She was worried about people harassing me for my ears. So she gave me this to hide them.” 

Sehun just looked at him, then looked away. “Whatever man.” 

Jongin still seemed ready for a fight, but as far as Sehun was concerned, he was done with this conversation. Walking over to his desk, he set his bag down a little harder than he should have and yanked his laptop out, going to plug in his ear buds with a speed that likely would have felt embarrassing if the door hadn’t slammed shut at that moment, telling him that his roommate decided to run. Unsurprisingly. 

Exhaling shakily, wondering if Jongin would file for a new roommate, Sehun spitefully put on one of the new movies he wanted to watch with him, settling down to watch it on his lonesome instead. 

\-- 

Jongin didn’t come back that night, and Sehun had to fight back the guilt that came with wondering if he no longer felt safe now that his secret was out. He fought the urge to text him, both wanting to reach out and say that he didn’t mind living with a hybrid, he never really had any opinion of them beyond his general discomfort at people having pets that could look and act so human. 

Well, now he finally knew the true extent of that. 

Sehun found himself leaving his room more often than he normally would, instead retreating to the library when he wanted to watch shows or attempt to work on homework, settling in cafes when he just wanted to mess around, going where the wifi strung him along. 

Taking the bus had become a thing to dread as well, as he could feel Jongdae’s curiosity, wondering if he had gone through with asking Jongin about his secret. It took incredible flexibility to lead the topic away from that, even though they both clearly knew that Jongdae was trying to ask, and Sehun was avoiding. The second day of this was two days too many, and Jongdae cut him off mid ramble about a new anime he started with “So is Jongin done with you now, or something? Is that why you’re being so weird about this?” 

Surprising himself, he demanded, voice low, “Just let it go, alright?” 

Jongdae blinked, muttering, “Well, damn,” but he listened, for once. 

Granted, the longer Sehun spent moping, the more Jongdae’s patience was tested, but the eventual intervention didn’t come from him or Chanyeol (who got to hear the most of his frustrations). 

One day, in the middle of playing soccer with the boys that had accosted him his first day, he stole the ball off of Lu Han, and raced for the goal, about to pass to a teammate, when he slammed into a body that felt hard as steel, not even knocking them slightly back, though he fell onto his butt. 

“Shit,” he spat, before he realized he was looking up into the face of one of Jongin’s hybrid friends. 

Instead of looking scary, however, this boy had a rather sweet smile, and seemed a bit sheepish as he asked, “Can I borrow you for a minute?” 

“I guess so.” Sehun sighed, not even thinking that this could be about Jongin, as his thoughts were mostly wrapped up in why this guy thought standing in the middle of a soccer game was the best way to get his attention. 

A couple guys on his team yelled after him for leaving in the middle of what could have been a great play, but he waved them off, comfortable enough with their jeering that it didn’t worry him at all. 

Instead, he switched his attention to the guy, taking in his close-cropped black hair and the warm lines of his eyes with notable confusion. 

“You’re…?” 

“Zhang Yixing.” The man smiled, his long, prehensile tail wrapping around his right thigh as they passed through a busy section of sidewalk. 

“Right.” Sehun cleared his throat, “So, what did you want to talk about?” 

Yixing didn’t reply, and while Sehun had to physically bite back the repeated words, outwardly he kept his expression blank, wondering if he was going to be taken to Jongin to talk this out. Well, he didn’t think he needed to—but Jongin had seemed so utterly determined to make him be part of the problem that it seemed like it was going that way. 

When Yixing led him into a pathway behind one of the buildings, Sehun started to wonder why they hadn’t just gone into the building’s normal entrance, until he saw the tall, angry looking hybrid that wore too much eyeliner parked in front of the door. 

Coming to an abrupt halt, he looked at Yixing with betrayal in his eyes, spotting movement behind them, as the girl with longer brown hair closed in the back, her hand coming up to brush loose strands of hair away from her small, bear-like brown ears. 

“Oh god.” Sehun could suddenly see teeth and claws in his future, and he backed up against the wall of the building, thinking how even if anyone heard his screaming, finding where it was coming from would probably be an ordeal in and of itself. Damn mountain campus. 

The girl with the long brown hair approached him first, her expression fixed into one of mild distaste, like the breeze had caught the scent of garbage sitting out on the street. 

“You,” she started with a hint of impatience, “need to get over yourself.” 

“I’m sorry?” Sehun’s voice came out a little shriller than he would have liked, and he glanced between her and the out-right scowling girl, wanting to look to Yixing for help, yet knowing somehow that if the guy would bring him here, he wouldn’t help, even if he looked the most sympathetic. 

“Having a problem with hybrids is putting you in the same league as racist old men, you know that right? You realize that you’re enabling a system that has people, people just like you, forced into slavery to people without hybrid characteristics?” 

Sehun wrinkled up his nose. “But I don’t have a problem with hybrids?” He saw Yixing and the other girl’s attention go to the girl who spoke to him first, both looking incredulous, though the former had the grace to hide most of it, while the girl with the harsh makeup almost looked offended. 

“Do you really think we would believe you over Jongin?” And rather than sound bitchy, the girl with the long hair mostly sounded genuinely concerned, like he overestimated his ability to lie. 

Sighing angrily, pushing off of the wall, sensing that perhaps they wouldn’t hit him unless he proved to be a bigot or a threat to their friend, he tried again, “Well, no. But he misunderstood, too. I don’t care that he’s a hybrid. I mean, it raises questions, but I’m mostly mad that—” Sehun cut himself off, angry that he was going to confess this to people that he didn’t know, though he knew he had to say it. “I’m mostly mad that I thought we were getting close and he didn’t tell me something so major.” 

The girl who hadn’t spoken yet gave an incredulous snort, but the girl in front of him waved her off. “And if you’re telling the truth, why do you think you’re entitled to know something like that if he didn’t want to tell you?” 

Sehun went to respond, then found himself biting the words back as he considered them. “I’m not entitled, just insulted he thought I was like that.” 

“Most people are like that.” The other girl finally spoke, her voice sharp, “You’re not some special snowflake; you grew up with hybrids on tv as the cute pets, or the cliché sex-obsessed gross out joke. People think we’re stupid, they make assumptions based on prejudices, and if you think you’re immune to it just because you got along with one, or because you didn’t have a pet as a kid, then you’re an idiot.” 

It was the most he had ever heard her say at one point, and he just gaped at her for a moment, before the other girl walked up to her and rested a gentle hand on her bicep. 

Her lips moved as she whispered something to the other, and the girl drew back, though she shot Sehun one last pointed look. 

“We’re here to ask if Jongin’s going to have a problem living with you.” The girl with the long hair spoke coolly, “Because if he is, well; there are worse people out there than you. And somehow I feel like you could be talked into being nice.” The way she emphasized “talked” made Sehun all too aware that this was where the beating could come into play. 

“I still—have no problem with Jongin.” Sehun bit out, “And frankly I don’t think you have to worry at all, because I haven’t seen him in a few days anyway.” 

Yixing glanced between the two girls then, expression giving nothing away to Sehun, but the one who had done most of the talking sighed. “Alright. If you’re going to be good, he’ll start creeping back. Cats only fight when they think they can win, you know.” 

“Now who’s stereotyping?” Sehun shot back. 

She looked startled, and Yixing snorted a bit. “He has you there, Soojung.” 

Soojung gave him a look, then a smile that somehow chilled him. “Well then, I know the perfect way you two can make nice. We’re having a little get together in Hongdae on Thursday night; it would be wonderful if you came.” 

Partially wondering who counted as “we,” Sehun only nodded, “That sounds fair, when and where?” 

“It’s called NB2.” Her English pronunciation was surprisingly fluid. “And we’re meeting around ten—so make sure to have some money for a taxi.” 

He almost asked her how expensive the drinks were, but he bit his tongue, seeing a way out, and hopefully an end to the ridiculous avoiding techniques that Jongin seemed to like to pull when things would go badly. 

“I’ll be there.” He agreed steadily, noting the odd approval in Yixing’s expression. 

Soojung nodded, then stepped aside, giving him a way out if he was done. 

He took it. 

\-- 

When he got back to his room, he made a split second decision and dialed Chanyeol, too keyed up to discuss this over text, where his idiot of a best friend could blow him off and not even realize how much he was screwing him over. 

“Yeol,” he started when he heard the line click on, “I need you here Thursday night.” 

No sound came from Chanyeol’s side, and he knew his friend was weighing his answer, debating on if it was worth asking why. 

“What time?” 

“Well, if you’re staying the weekend, try to get here for nine.” 

“In the morning?” He heard his friend’s incredulous laughter and cut him off before he could continue. 

“No! In the evening. We’re going clubbing.” 

Chanyeol laughed again. “You want to go out drinking? Why didn’t you say that first?” 

“So you’ll come?” Sehun tried to keep his voice from pitching too high. 

“Of course, you desperate shit. I’ll have to cut my astronomy class, but I’ll be honest, it fucking sucks, so I don’t really mind.” 

Sehun bit back the obnoxious groan of relief that wanted to come out, and instead added, trying to keep his voice innocent, “And the party is hosted by hybrids, so nothing offensive!” 

The line was silent for a moment, before Chanyeol finally deadpanned, “Do you really think my dog collar is offensive, first of all? And second, fuck you, they’d probably think it looked hot on me like every other sane person in the world.” 

“I don’t know!” Sehun groaned, trying to cut him off, “But they’re like, easily offended.” 

“Maybe this is why your roommate isn’t talking to you.” 

“Hey!” 

“Just saying.” 

\-- 

When Chanyeol arrived that Thursday night, a little later than planned when he found out Sehun had given them no time for dinner, Sehun’s dorm room looked like a very localized tornado had made its home in his closet. 

“Um,” Chanyeol poked his head into the closet, “If your goal was to clean this out, well done. Otherwise, you’re not dressed, and Jongin is only going to be _more_ pissed at you if he comes home to this.” 

“I’ll throw it all back in my closet when I’m done.” Sehun promised, wiggling his way into a pair of tight skinny jeans. 

“Are you trying to fuck him or make up with him, because if it’s the latter, you chose the wrong jeans.” 

Sehun froze at his friend’s words and nearly fell over, kicking off the jeans like they would bite him. “Alright smart ass, what do you recommend?” 

Chanyeol gingerly picked his way through the clothes landmines and nudged a pair of blue jeans that hugged his butt nicely, but were otherwise loose. “These. And if we’re going to an actual club, a t-shirt.” 

Following his instructions did produce a normal, if effective look, but Sehun frowned, “I was gonna do the eye makeup.” But Chanyeol was already shaking his head. 

“That would be over kill. Unless you’re actually trying to fuck him, but remember; he has to actually _like_ you first.” 

Sehun threw a tube of hair gel at him, and Chanyeol yelped when it hit his arm, though he couldn’t help adding, “Yeah, no to that, too.” 

After that, they really only had to shove Sehun’s clothes back into his closet. Then they were ready to go. 

The subway they needed to take to get there only took about a half an hour, and while Chanyeol chattered away to him about how classes back at his home university were going, Sehun could only half listen, though he did try his best; fixating on how his meeting with Jongin would go would only make his nerves worse. 

When they finally arrived at the right station, Sehun shot up long before the station actually came into view, standing up when the intercom announced it. Chanyeol gave him an unimpressed look, dutifully standing with him, muttering, “You literally couldn’t look more desperate if you tried.” 

“Well,” he shot back, “If you had a bunch of homicidal hybrids on your ass, maybe you would be, too.” 

“And here I thought you just wanted to get in Jongin’s pants. Turns out you barely care at all.” 

Sehun shot him an offended look, to which Chanyeol laughed under his breath as they climbed off of the train. 

The air was cold enough this time of night that Sehun actually wished he had brought a jacket, though he hated having to account for them once he would check it, and the fact that Chanyeol had come in shorts and a jacket made him more than a little irritable. 

Plenty of already-drunk college students crowded the sidewalks, chatting and laughing like they had nothing more serious to worry about than how much the taxi home would cost. Sehun felt stupidly dramatic the moment he thought that and shook his head, keeping an eye out for the club. He had been to Hongdae twice already, but Chanyeol spotted the club first, elbowing him in the ribs when Sehun nearly passed it. 

Chanyeol graciously let him lead them both in, like he suddenly had so much more experience with clubs than him just because he had lived in Seoul. 

They both went in with no problem, and Chanyeol checked his jacket, before they stepped out onto the main floor, taking in the dance floor and the clusters of booths around the perimeter. Some people were already out on the dance floor, but many were clustered in the booths, a small number of drinks present, as many of them had likely just arrived and couldn’t populate a dance floor without a good buzz going. 

Sehun began to wonder where they should sit, when he caught sight of someone waving in their direction frantically. 

In the dim lighting, he might not have recognized the girl if it hadn’t been for her vibrant red hair, and he found himself relaxing instinctively, waving back. 

“Solji!” He called, dragging a complacent Chanyeol over. 

Solji grinned up at him, sipping something that might have been soju, but more likely was sprite. “Sehun! Who’s this?” Her voice came out innocently, but the knowing glint in her eyes nearly had him blushing—what kind of world was it when someone he had only known for a short time could make such an accurate guess at his sexuality? 

“This is Chanyeol, my best friend from back home.” He explained, though said man had already elbowed his way past him, bowing to the hybrid, smiling with a certain smarminess that had Sehun groaning in his head. 

“Nice to meet you, Solji- _ssi._ ” 

“Oh please, you can call me _noona_ too.” She beamed at him, looking between the two. “Eunyoung told me you would be coming. I’m glad you decided to; Jongin’s been looking a bit harassed.” 

“Harassed?” Sehun froze, wondering if Solji would chew him out as well, though she just looked amused. 

“Yes. But I kind of get the impression neither of you communicate well. So until the day you hurt Jongin on purpose, I’m not witch hunting.” 

Chanyeol had sort of zoned out, and he took the lull in conversation to ask, “So, drinks! Can I get either of you anything?” 

Sehun ordered a bottle of soju and a bottle of beer, recommending Chanyeol to do the same—as mixed soju and beer actually had a pretty good taste. 

When he returned, he only brought one thing of soju, quipping that Sehun at least owed him some soju for dragging him all of the way down there unnecessarily. 

They all drank together, Solji laughing loudly as they jumped back and forth, both determined to embarrass each other with childhood stories, though only Chanyeol could truly suffer, as he kept eyeing up the pretty hybrid with the awed sense of someone who didn’t expect to meet someone hot, and wasn’t sure why they were talking to them. 

Sehun had downed several mixed drinks of beer and soju in this process, and he forgot why he had come to the club in the first place, until he tried to speak to a distracted Chanyeol. 

“What could be so important that you’re blowing me off?” He huffed, waving a hand in front of his friend’s face. 

“Look at that guy go.” Chanyeol ignored his question. 

Turning to face the now-crowded dance floor, Sehun’s jaw dropped when he saw the person in question, dancing in the middle of the circle with enough skill to make an idol blush. The crowd cheered him on raucously, a large group of hybrids the most vocal. 

That made Sehun look at the face, the mess of black above his head morphing into a hat pulled low over hair. He quickly downed the rest of his drink, because Jongin had arrived, and the time for putting off their confrontation had passed. 

“Gotta go.” He tried to push his way out of the booth, Chanyeol grumbling loudly at him, asking why he hadn’t just sat on the edge if he was going to disrupt him like that. 

Sehun ignored him and moved toward the dance floor, the room swaying in the smears of bright lights and clusters of dancing university students. Normally the giddiness would be a lot more prominent at that point, but his attention fell fearfully, wonderfully, onto the liquid movements of the man in the middle of the circle of people. The closer he moved, the less he could see of him, and he walked faster then, needing to conclude this mess and talk to his roommate. 

Pushing his way through the crowd was a bit nerve wracking, and people got the wrong impression: When he reached the front, he was ejected into the center, nearly bumping into Jongin. 

The people cheered loudly, thinking they would get a new challenger, and suddenly Sehun didn’t want to spoil the fun—he was considering a performing arts minor, damn it. So he relaxed, shoulders coming down a bit as he listened for the beat, and then began to dance, freestyling with a skill that had the crowd roaring with approval, and Jongin going still for a moment. 

Then, rather than run like he had all of those times before, Jongin began dancing again, facing him, matching the rather ridiculous body rolls that Sehun went into with grace, both turning and twisting for their audience, who called their love more and more loudly as the song thrummed on. 

He only met Jongin’s eyes once, and instead of fear or anger, he saw competition, a dark, yet not serious expression on his features. This more than anything else made Sehun smile, and it was when he nearly laughed that he lost his concentration and stumbled into the side of the people ring, declaring Jongin the winner of their little battle, not that he minded. 

Jongin stepped forward then, hands going to Sehun’s arms to help steady him, and he smelled lightly of his cologne, or maybe it was his body wash, a concerned look on his features. 

“Are you alright?” He yelled over the music, and while Sehun heard him, he could only smile at the other. 

“Better now.” Sehun called back, arms going forward to embrace his roommate, “Glad to see you!” 

Jongin stiffened up, before laughing awkwardly, and leading him toward the edge of the circle, out of the limelight. “Let’s get you seated and get you a drink.” 

When Sehun whooped, he corrected, “A drink of water.” 

He might have spied Solji, or they might have waved to him, but either way, Sehun found himself back at the table with his best friend and the female hybrid, leaning heavily on Jongin as the dancer slid into the booth next to him, seeming a bit unnerved even though he continued to sit there. 

Chanyeol teased him for it, obviously hoping it would get him to move, but Sehun only said, “If I move he’ll leave.” 

The table went quiet with awkward silence, before Sehun picked his head up and looked Jongin dead in the eyes. “Listen. You’re my friend. Stop ignoring me.” 

Chanyeol looked like he was fighting not to laugh, while Jongin looked torn between being vaguely insulted, a little uncomfortable, and something a little closer to fondness, though it wasn’t quite there. 

“I can’t just start treating you normally.” Jongin gave him a firm look, “Not when you don’t get it.” 

“But I’ll never really get it, will I?” Sehun frowned, “I’m not a hybrid. But I don’t think bad things about hybrids or think they shouldn’t go to university. I just wish you would have trusted me.” 

Jongin gave him a thoughtful look, both of them ignoring Chanyeol and Solji’s increasingly obvious panic about being inadvertently involved in something so personal. 

“I don’t owe you anything.” Jongin reminded him, though his words had no bite. 

Sehun just looked at him. “I know. Can we go back to being friends?” His hands found Jongin’s wrist, and the hybrid looked like he was wavering. 

“Did we ever really stop?” He finally said, voice weakly teasing. 

The relief that came with that had Sehun exhaling hard against his friend’s neck, missing his goosebumps, as he proclaimed, “I think that calls for drinks! This round’s on me!” 

Solji and Chanyeol both perked up at that point, when two more people slid into the booth, rudely pushing them further in, though Solji laughed at their antics, as opposed to Chanyeol, who barely noticed, as he was pushed into the pretty older girl. 

“That includes us, right?” Purred Soojung, her and the girl, Eunyoung, now seated at the booth, with Yixing standing at the front of the table, smiling sheepishly. 

“Yeah, sure!” Sehun tried to ignore how light his wallet would feel the next day, but instead focused on the silent, albeit kind of reluctant, approval that he sensed from the other hybrids. 

Chanyeol glanced between Solji and Soojung, and Sehun swore he never saw his friend say “fuck it” so quickly before, as he started trying to chat both of them up, though Soojung kept blowing him off. Sehun was tempted to warn him that she probably didn’t date humans, but it was funny watching him make an ass out of himself. 

Sehun stayed leaning on his roommate, Jongin not moving to push him off, as they all rattled off their orders to Yixing, who offered to get them drinks if Sehun paid up to him. Sehun did, and Yixing was gone and back in no time. 

Chanyeol tried to show an unimpressed Soojung how to mix the beer and soju, while Sehun had a bit more success with Jongin, the whole group drinking together even if Soojung and Eunyoung didn’t seem to like addressing their human companions. 

It was when Yixing came back from getting them their second round of drinks, and Eunyoung had him sit on her lap, that Sehun realized that there was something going on with the three hybrids on that side; Soojung appeared to be leaning into both Eunyoung and Yixing, her hand somewhere on the lap of one of the two. If she was with one of them, it seemed rude to do anything when the other one was there...but then again, Sehun really had no idea what was going on with them. 

Finally, after his buzz had settled into something a bit more serious, and he had begun to seriously consider grabbing Jongin’s hand to see how thick his fingers were, he noticed that Soojung had begun to kiss Yixing, her hand still in between the two people next to her. 

Sehun looked on, vaguely horrified, then turned back to Jongin, asking in a low voice, “Why are they making out with Eunyoung underneath? That seems a bit rude?” 

Jongin, much more loose now that he had had a few drinks, laughed, “They’re all together, duh.” 

Blinking, Sehun glanced around, wanting to see if Chanyeol had heard that, though of course he hadn’t—somewhere along the line he had vacated to see if there was anyone more receptive to his charms on the dance floor, as Solji proved quite resistant. 

“All of them?” He asked dumbly. “Those three?” 

Jongin paused to think, which would have majorly confused Sehun, if he hadn’t added, “I think there’s two others, too? Cheetah’s not usually involved…she must be pretty drunk.” He added in a conspiring whisper. 

Sehun froze. “Woah. Is that a normal hybrid thing?” 

Worrying for a moment that he had insulted his friend, he jumped a bit in surprise when the man let out a deep laugh, reminding him, “You know, humans can have multiple people in a relationship, too.” 

Waving his arms a bit, Sehun protested, “But how don’t they get jealous? I would be so jealous if I really cared about someone and they could fuck someone else and like, _like them more than me._ ” 

Jongin laughed again, looking down at him with an easy expression, “It’s mostly a mutual support and comfort thing. And those things are often very lenient; you don’t have to be sexual, you can be sexual with certain people. It’s nice.” 

Sehun began to puff up, ready to argue some more, and Jongin seemingly saw that, leaning over, lips brushing his ear as he asked, “You want to get another drink?” 

Shivering a bit, said man let his argument slip away with no more force than a whisper, and he found himself nodding, standing up to wait for Jongin to come with him. 

The rest of that night passed in neon colored blurs and warm touches of skin, Sehun propped between a barely-tipsy Chanyeol, and a Jongin who, while also drunk, seemingly could handle his alcohol much better than a certain someone. 

Chanyeol spent their time in the cab grumbling about Sehun being a sloppy asshole, but said man ignored him, preferring to lean on Jongin, cooing about how warm he was, arms loped around one of Jongin’s arms. He couldn’t remember being so touchy in the past, but it came through now, his actions only being reinforced by the amused looks his roommate sent him. 

When he got back to the dorm room, Sehun had to be unwillingly pulled from the hybrid, whining about having to share a bed with Chanyeol, who just shot Jongin an incredulous look. 

“Would you rather share with Jongin?” Chanyeol taunted instead, letting out an injured noise when his best friend nodded in assent. “Yeah, well, Jongin doesn’t want your drunk ass any more than I want it.” 

Sehun looked at Jongin then, expression hurt like the other had really said it, and Jongin shook his head. “If you really want to stay with me, you can’t lay on my tail.” 

He might have also been kidding, but drunken Sehun took him seriously, bouncing as they rode the elevator up. “Yes! I will be the best tail watcher ever!” 

When they reached their dorm room, Sehun stumbled over to Jongin’s side of the room, tossing his shirt and pants to his side, too hot to rationalize sleeping in them, then marched toward Jongin’s bed, collapsing onto it before he could register Chanyeol’s protest. 

“Dammit Sehun, put some clothes on.” 

“But ‘m hot.” 

Jongin chuckled lightly, then replied, “It doesn’t matter. So long as he doesn’t vomit on me.” 

“I won’t!” Sehun vowed, though his stomach was starting to swoop a bit, it only growing worse when Jongin plopped down next to him, then placed his hat on the end table, his ears so very _there_ against his dark hair. 

Staring at them, partially mesmerized, Sehun asked, softly, “Can I touch?” 

Jongin stiffened. “I would prefer that you didn’t.” 

“Oh, okay.” Sehun looked up at him, biting his lower lip with worry that he had offended the other. But, after a moment, Jongin settled down next to him on the twin bed, back to Sehun to try to give them both a bit of breathing room. 

Chanyeol turned off the light after he returned from the bathroom, and they all settled down, Sehun starting to feel the wonderful exhaustion a good drink usually brought. 

Dropping off to sleep fairly quickly, Sehun only woke once, vaguely having to pee, but too comfortable, an arm slung over Jongin’s waist as he played big spoon. Normally embarrassment would have had him pulling back, but the comforting weight of the man’s tail draped over his waist made him feel a strange comfort, something swooping in his stomach in just such a way that he worried he might have been about to vomit. 

In the morning, Chanyeol teased him incessantly, Sehun countering that they couldn’t hold him accountable for the shit he did while drunk. 

From there, their relationship got a lot easier; Jongin still hid his ears when he would go out onto campus, but now Sehun would come home to a man with two cat ears either perked attentively, or drooping as the man fought not to nap in the middle of his calculus notes. The tail took a bit more getting used to, as the giant furry thing that would sometimes brush his bare skin still occasionally made him shriek like a child—though that only came from a fear of giant spiders that he imagined felt something like that. 

Hanging out in his room actually became something he felt doing again, though he did admittedly take a bit too much pleasure in tossing socks at Jongin when he needed his attention, trying to hit his tail after he accidentally hooked one onto the end, once. The first time it had happened, he apologized over and over, before he noticed Jongin was smiling, ever so slightly, at his stupid antics. 

Things had started to settle, amazingly enough. Jongin had gone back to the chill dance major Sehun had met all of those weeks ago at orientation, even going so far as to practice in their room when he thought Sehun wouldn’t be home (though after he walked in on him a few times, he started begging Jongin for performances, wanting to work on his own freestyling). Put them together and you had a beautifully mismatched pair of dancers, but when Jongin managed some ballet, or put on videos of him in past performances, it was clear who had the natural talent. Someday people would weep over Jongin’s dancing—something Sehun only dared tell him the next time they drank together. 

That time, they went to a normal bar with his other hybrid friends, Yixing unashamedly sitting next to him, with Solji and Eunyoung pointedly away from Soojung, though they seemed like they weren’t fighting—more like Eunyoung didn’t want a repeat make out session with Soojung. 

Jongin sat to Sehun’s left, with Solji on his left. They all chattered loudly about classes and about the hot new crop of foreigners around campus. 

“Russian boy is cute…” Soojung mused, and Solji called, “Does he even speak Korean?” 

In perfect English, Soojung replied, “Who cares? I’m sure he speaks English.” 

Sehun normally steered clear of Soojung by that point, but he couldn’t lie; girl was hilarious. She just was _also_ his biggest threat, with her muscles and the anti-human club she ran with Eunyoung. 

He shivered a bit, resisting the urge to ask her if she would ever fuck a human, as he was pretty sure that Russian boy wasn’t a hybrid, but the way her eyes would flash, like she was looking at a peasant she could crush between her fingers, when he would accidentally ask something stupid, had him biting his tongue, sticking close to Yixing and Jongin, who probably wouldn’t let her kill him. 

When he had ingested enough alcohol to no longer be scared into keeping his voice down, he told Jongin what he thought of his dancing, watching with an intensity that he didn’t quite understand as the man flushed, the redness darkening his already flushed cheeks. 

He felt eyes on him as he leaned into Jongin, asking loudly, “So will you stay in Seoul after school?” 

Jongin shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. “I’ll go where the work is. People don’t really hire hybrids.” 

“They will when you’re good. And you’re good.” Sehun pushed. 

Soojung leaned across the table at that point, allowing for a generous glimpse down her shirt as she proclaimed, “Alright, how about you stop with the empty compliments and put your money where your mouth is?” 

Sehun blinked at her, head swimming enough that he couldn’t quite figure out what she meant. 

Sensing this, she finished, “If you really think being a hybrid is no big deal, kiss Jongin in the middle of the pavement, where everyone could see his ears and tail.” 

Jongin stiffened beside him, even his buzz unable to keep the offensiveness of those words from reaching him. It felt strangely cruel of her to say, and Sehun found a strain of protectiveness coursing through him as he agreed to it. 

“Right now.” He found himself yelling in Yixing’s ear, “Lemme out we’re doing it _right now._ ” 

Ignoring Jongin’s attempts to argue his way out of it, he grabbed the hybrid’s wrist, dragging him out when Yixing cleared the way, Sehun paying no mind to his alarmed glance at Soojung, who somehow looked both stunned and a bit smug. 

Sehun pulled his roommate along behind him, Jongin yelling, “Alright, alright, you made your point! We can go back, you have balls, whatever.” And while he should have sounded angry, he mostly sounded panicked, something the mostly drunk human could hear, though he couldn’t exactly connect the dots. 

When they stepped out onto the street, Jongin yanked his wrist free, eyebrows bunching together with obvious frustration. 

“What is your problem?” He demanded, tail swishing agitatedly behind him, people ducking out of the way with disgusted glances. 

Sucking in an irritated breath, Sehun answered his question with another question, “Why does it matter that you’re a hybrid? Why does everyone get so damn wrapped up in something that is cool, but doesn’t affect them?” 

Jongin’s lips parted, likely to tell him off again, if Sehun had to guess, but he was tired of being dragged around by the nose, telling him he couldn’t appreciate something and that he didn’t appreciate it enough: He appreciated _Jongin,_ and for that night, he didn’t want anything more complicated. 

Striding forward, his hands went to Jongin’s collar, pulling it tight as their lips collided in a painful kiss, both of them groaning a bit at the sensation, though while Jongin was stunned, Sehun came in one more time, giving his lower lip a gentle kiss, as he whispered “sorry” to him. 

Jongin stared at him, their nearly equal height lending itself to the moment, the world compressed down to both of them, Sehun uncaring who could possibly have seen him kissing another man. Their closeness sent his pulse skittering, but he could barely appreciate it before Jongin drew back, his hand rising to cover his mouth like he thought his roommate would either maul his mouth again, or that the kiss repulsed him. 

The emotions rising in him were too much to deal with in his current state of mind, so he just looked away, then moved to hail a cab, figuring for once he wouldn’t force Jongin to run away, to forcefully veer around his life like it was full of physical landmines, all because Sehun loved to push, and Jongin had to deal with enough manhandling already. 

A taxi pulled up within seconds, as per usual once the buses stopped running, but when he went to slide into the driver’s seat, the back door came open as well, Jongin moving in, though Sehun didn’t have time to take in his expression, as he had to tell the driver how to get back to his dorm. 

It was only when they had pulled away, Sehun prematurely pulling out T-money card, that he glanced back over his shoulder—and at that point, Jongin was on his phone, texting someone. 

Sehun swallowed nervously, then drew out his own phone, only to discover he had left it at the bar. 

Groaning slightly, he then had to wave off the driver’s concerns that he might vomit in his car (“no no sir I’m fine, really”). 

He listened for a potential laugh from Jongin, but heard nothing the whole ride home. 

Having drank too much to really sober up on way, he stumbled out of the cab, tucked his wallet back into his pocket, then staggered for the dorm, thinking only of the cup of cold water that he could pour himself. 

“Wait!” 

Sehun slowed, turning to look at Jongin who had caught up with him, eyes lined with determination. “Why did you run?” 

He hadn’t anticipated the question, so he shrugged, replying with, “Isn’t that what you normally do?” Ignoring the dangerous look that got in response, he started walking again, only to come to a halt when Jongin grabbed his shoulder, yanking him nearly off of his feet. 

“You’re comparing kissing me and running, to me not wanting to deal with your phobic ass.” 

Shrugging, unwilling to admit that Jongin was right, all he said was, “I don’t care that we kissed, but I don’t want things to be awkward.” 

Jongin snorted, “And didn’t you just make them awkward?” 

“If I don’t, you would.” Sehun replied wryly. 

He yanked free of the touch as Jongin appeared to contemplate something, Sehun just wanting to go back to the dorm and sober up before he tried to fuck a tree, or something. 

This time, Jongin merely walked alongside him, then spoke, almost to himself, “Then why don’t we move past that? Why do things have to be awkward?” 

Sehun spoke to the view of the looming dorms instead of to Jongin, “I don’t know, but they seem to usually be.” 

“Don’t we get to set that?” 

Stepping up to input the passcode to get into the building, Sehun waited until he yanked the door open, replying, “In theory. But will we?” 

“We can change that. We can do that right now.” Jongin argued. 

“Yeah? How?” 

In response, Jongin grabbed his wrist, turning him back around, and then drew close to him, one hand going to Sehun’s neck as he leaned in to kiss him again, hitting the mark much better than drunken Sehun. 

Sehun meanwhile had no clue how this would solve any awkwardness, but he pushed his concerns aside, hands going to his roommate’s trim waist, resting on his hips as he kissed back, unable to invest real thought in the actions beyond a quiet, happy voice that mused over how warm the dancer felt beneath his palms. 

Then, the moment passing way too quickly, Jongin drew back and gave him a half smile. “Now it doesn’t have to be awkward. We kissed twice, it cancels out.” 

Thanking his drunken flush for hiding the heat that now rose to his cheeks, Sehun just nodded, strangely feeling like he was right—that they could continue normally. 

The walk to the elevator and then the ride up felt peaceful, like they had settled something finally, but when they climbed into their respective beds, Sehun had to fight back the impulse to join Jongin in the other bed. 

\-- 

Jongin’s logic shouldn’t have worked, but the next afternoon when he came home to Jongin working on some form of math equations, he greeted him normally, then went back to his work. 

Trying not to test the waters while the other worked, Sehun settled at his own desk and started to write a lab report he promised Taemin he would at least write the introduction for that night, though he ended up on kakao, replying to his missed messages from throughout the day. 

They worked in the quiet background noise of keyboard keys clacking, Sehun occasionally swearing under his breath when he would actually set out to work on his schoolwork. Time came to a standstill while they both diligently chipped away at their coursework, pressure pressing over Sehun the longer they went on in silence, the man wanting to speak up since it wasn’t just him in the room. It seemed wrong to be together with someone for so long without speaking, but if Jongin had the same implication, he gave nothing away. 

When the sun started to set, Sehun took off his earphones and went to turn on the light to the bedroom, attention passing over Jongin for the first time in a while, since he could finally glance casually at him again, without making a big deal to turn his head to do so. 

The man had a YouTube video on one side of his screen that showcased what looked like little ducks running around, while the left side showed an impressive wall of text that he had most likely been typing the entire time. 

Jerking his attention back to the light switch, Sehun nearly jumped when Jongin spoke up, asking, “You hungry?” 

Sehun thought about it for a moment, and his stomach rumbled on cue, sounding annoyed that he had ignored it for schoolwork and his hybrid roommate. “Oh. Yeah.” 

Jongin chuckled at his surprised tone, body spinning around in his chair to meet Sehun’s gaze, expression lazy, relaxed like Sehun realized he barely got to see it. 

“Want to go out for dinner?” Sehun blurted out. 

“I was about to ask you, so yes.” Jongin stretched, hands lacing above his head as he arched his back, chest pushing out in such a way that Sehun glanced hurriedly away, though not before he saw Jongin’s tail shoot out straight. 

Staring, he asked, trying to hold back his amusement, “Did you just try to balance with your tail?” 

Jongin’s arms shot back down, and he looked a bit antagonistic for a moment, though his face fell back into amused lines when Sehun continued, “You realize you’re sitting, right?” 

“Shut up.” Rising to a standing position, Jongin reached for his beanie, grabbing it off of its new position on the support of his bed. 

Sehun bit back his urging for the man to go out without it—it really wasn’t his business how Jongin went about keeping himself safe. 

“Want to go to the cafeteria?” He asked instead. 

Once Jongin had gotten the beanie settled onto his head, he turned to look at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Are you just cheap, or are you embarrassed to be seen out in a real restaurant with me?” 

“Neither!” Sehun fought back a blush, “I didn’t realize that was an option.” 

Chuckling, Jongin slipped his wallet into his pocket, then walked over to the door, sitting down on the edge of the floor to slip his shoes on. “It is. Do you want to go to a real restaurant?” 

He did. “I—sure.” But he sounded like such a prat in the process of agreeing. 

Sehun followed him to pull his own shoes on, reaching for his trainers as he felt his roommate’s eyes fall on him. As he slid on his first shoe, his gaze rose to meet Jongin’s, and he nearly cringed when the man’s expression seemed unamused again, like he was looking for an answer to a question that made him want to punch Sehun in the face. 

“Then let’s go.” Jongin said after a pregnant moment of silence, jumping up to open their apartment door. Whatever it had been, apparently Sehun hadn’t been in violation. 

They caught the bus down to the station, Sehun watching Jongin handle the bumpy, swinging bus ride with aplomb, swaying and never once being close to being thrown off of his feet. Sehun nearly pushed him during a sharp left turn, just to get him back for managing so well, but he feared that his roommate wouldn’t fall over even then. 

Jongin caught his slight frown at one point and just offered him a wide grin in response, obviously unable to tell that the frown was directed at him. Asshole. 

He let out a startled yelp when two fingers pinched his cheek, Sehun’s scowl firing up at Jongin, who was innocently looking out of the window. A few of the older riders might have given him a dirty look, but he paid no mind to them, reaching out to give Jongin’s thigh a sharp pinch in retaliation, the man jumping at the sensation, before laughing loudly, only restraining it after the initial sound, so they wouldn’t be yelled at. 

Sehun turned his attention back out of the window then, spreading his legs so his right leg pushed into his roommate’s personal space, discouraging him from standing right next to his seat again, but Jongin just pushed his foot out of the way, grabbing onto one of the hanging hand holds to steady himself while he fucked around. 

Pursing his lips, Sehun let his foot be moved when he sensed the irritated gaze of an ahjussi on him, sending Jongin a warning glare that went blissfully ignored. 

When it came time to depart, he had to fight his own urge to slam Jongin into the metal bar on the side of the bus, only stopping because he didn’t want to push the man into the street, and thus they found themselves in the middle of the evening, neon lit up around them to tempt them to dinner. 

“Where do you—” 

“We should go to—” 

They both broke off, and Sehun moved to step further off of the path, waving at Jongin to continue whatever he was saying. 

“A chicken and beer place?” Jongin looked hopeful, and Sehun couldn’t help teasing, “So cats really do like birds.” 

He swatted Sehun’s arm, who cackled loudly, dancing away from him and nearly bumping into a young couple, arm in arm. The boy wrapped his arm more tightly around the girl, sent him a dirty look, and they scurried off, as Jongin demanded, “So you don’t want to eat there, then?” 

“No, I do!” Sehun cackled, moving back over so that they stood close together. “Do you have a place in mind?” 

Jongin glanced up and down the street, before commenting, “Yeah, there’s one further up this way.” 

He started walking to the right, Sehun setting a pace similar to his so he could walk alongside him, wondering why he felt so hot when they had just started walking. 

They walked in silence for a minute or so before coming upon a place that didn’t look too busy, likely because it was set back from the subway station a bit. 

Stepping up to the door, Sehun pushed inside, not holding the door for Jongin even though he had considered it for a split second, before calling out to the waiter, who gestured for them to sit at a table to the right of the building, close enough to the displayed television that Jongin could watch it over his head if he wanted. 

The waiter came over when Jongin called, and they ordered a bucket of boneless chicken and two mugs of beer, it coming over soon after, as a large group of people moved into the restaurant. 

Exchanging a glance, Sehun felt a string of frustration for a moment, sensing they would be the type to drink more than eat, and would likely get loud within about a half an hour. 

Jongin’s foot nudged his own, and he kicked back absently, eyes narrowing at the smirk that brought out on his roommate’s features. 

“So what were you working on?” Sehun asked after kicking his foot again. 

Laughing, Jongin pulled his feet back and answered, “I was transferring my notes to my computer. And you?” 

“Lab report.” He groaned, resisting the urge to flop onto the table as he thought about how much of it he still had to type. Stupid Taemin. “But why do you have written notes at all? I thought you were a VAPA major?” 

“I am.” Jongin sighed heavily, “But I have to take history of dance, and I’m also responsible for theory.” 

“All in your first semester?” Sehun squinted. 

“Well…no. Actually the notes I’m taking now are history—like the kingdom of Silla stuff.” He laughed, “But even when I mainline my actual major, I’ll still have lecture classes.” 

Rolling his eyes, Sehun commented, “School has to get their money for you being there as long as possible.” 

“If it was just my dancing classes, I’d be able to test out.” 

Sehun gave him a look, reaching across the table to swat his arm. “Someone’s a bit full of himself.” 

The waiter came back with their beer, and then both nodded to him, Jongin taking a hearty drink right off the bat, while Sehun just sipped his, knowing it would taste better with a mouthful of chicken. 

“I mean, when you’re confined to a house, you have to pick your hobbies smartly.” Jongin said, wiping his mouth with a tissue to get the foam off. 

“Confined to a house?” 

They stared at each other for a moment, Sehun forcing a larger gulp of beer to hide his expression. 

“Well, yeah.” Jongin’s voice had taken on a softer quality, like he wanted to make sure no one else could hear them—even with the men that were slowly growing rowdier a few tables over. “When you grow up as a hybrid, if you’re not making it on your own, or if you can’t survive without protection, you have…humans you stay with.” 

Sehun nearly said ‘owners,’ then realized how bad that sounded, even in his head, so instead he asked, “Your entire family stayed with humans?” 

Jongin snorted, taking another drink of beer. “No. My mom and I. Dad was—” 

The chicken arrived then, and then both instantly reached for a piece, feeling like the conversation needed some delicious padding before things grew too dark. Sehun wanted to press him to finish, but anything that started with the inclusion of just him and his mom spoke to the dad either being dead or a deadbeat. 

Frowning, he took a bite of his chicken, swallowing his curiosity alongside it, before changing the subject, “So how does it feel having your own space?” 

“What, you mean the third of the room that doesn’t get covered in your dirty socks?” Jongin’s tone had gone back to teasing, the weird mood passing. 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Sehun replied, undeterred. 

“I like it a lot.” He leaned back against the chair, popped the rest of his piece of chicken into his mouth, and savored it for a moment. “It’s nice being able to have some semblance of privacy. And in my own bedroom, too.” 

The urge to tease him came and went, Sehun’s voice growing a little gruff as he offered, “I mean, if you ever want time to yourself, I know the showers are open, and you can always like text me, or whatever.” 

Neither of them spoke in the heavy silence that followed, Sehun taking another large gulp of his beer as he tried to ignore that whatever that meant, it sounded like he just offered Jongin masturbation time. 

Thankfully, Jongin took it at face value, and just nodded, thanking him quietly. 

They focused on eating after that, the people at the next table over steadily growing rowdier to the point that they wouldn’t have been able to talk with their mouths full anyway. Jongin’s gaze drifted up to the television from time to time, and Sehun’s went to the storefront windows, watching the people pass by in the neon-lit darkness. 

Eventually, Sehun and Jongin both reached in for a piece of chicken, only to find that there was only one left, their chopsticks clinking together in a way that made both of them laugh, the beer hanging over them in a soft haze. 

He watched Jongin say something, before leaning in, calling that he couldn’t hear him. Jongin leaned in as well, their knees bumping beneath the table, and he nearly shouted to his roommate, Sehun turning his head to better hear him, “You still hungry? We could grab some popsicles from the 7/11 before we head back?” 

Sehun knew he didn’t need anything else, but he found himself nodding nevertheless, both of them going to stand up to pay the bill. 

Without consciously deciding to do so, they held hands once they got out of the restaurant, Sehun guiding them around other pedestrians, Jongin dutifully following when they didn’t just walk side by side. 

People flitted by at all speeds, choking the sidewalks with a density that had the duo shifting positions quite a bit, Sehun still a bit surprised how the small bit of town by the subway station had similar crowd patterns to his home. Living technically in Seoul made it sound like everything would be high risers, with crowds as thick as a rush hour subway ride, but it all still felt familiar enough to not give him pause. 

Jongin spotted the store while he daydreamed of his home town, and thus he shifted to follow behind the dance major as they stepped into the little store, going over to the chest full of ice cream. 

Sehun and Jongin both chose the strawberry one, Sehun’s cheeks going pink enough to match the wrapper when Jongin pulled his out, and it was deformed just enough to look vaguely like a penis. 

They exchanged a startled glance, then started laughing, hard, Sehun finally whispering to him as they cleared out of the shop: “I can eat it if you don’t want to.” 

Jongin shot him an amused look, though he tried to cover it up with faux anger. “Are you saying I’m too heterosexual to eat my pretty pink co—popsicle?” 

Choking, Sehun waved him off, smacking him with his closed snack, then panicking when he realized he might have broken it off. Ignoring Jongin’s laughter, he opened his snack, then sullenly popped the broken off tip into his mouth, sucking on the cold piece until it dissolved, ignoring his friend until he could start eating his popsicle the normal way. 

When he had finally managed to start eating his popsicle like a normal person, he turned his attention to Jongin, whose gaze was resting on the horizon, looking for the bus that would take them back to their dorm. Sehun fought the urge his eyes had to rest on Jongin’s mouth, the way his lips fit around the ice cream, Sehun’s throat going dry as the man licked a line up the treat, collecting the melting strawberry flavor so it wouldn’t drip on his hand. 

Sehun sucked at the tip of his distractedly, watching how Jongin’s lips pursed as he pushed the popsicle into his mouth, then pulled it out to lick at the melting bottom. Heat curled in his stomach, and then he found he was coughing, cheeks bright red from his inability to keep his eyes on something appropriate. It felt weird, but sometimes he stopped noticing how good looking his friend was, only for it to really hit him later. 

Hands were on his back when he stayed doubled over, Jongin asking, “Hey, hey, are you alright?” 

Forcing himself to take deep breaths, feeling the eyes of the people around them on him, he made a thumbs up, hands going to his knees, and he forced himself to inhale slowly. 

The bus arrived at that point, and he fumbled for his student ID, scanning it and climbing on, gratefully taking one of the pair seats, Jongin sliding in next to him, their thighs brushing when the bus would hit bumps. 

He forced himself to not pay attention, blaming the beer. 

\-- 

When they got back to their dorm, Jongin asked if he felt like watching a movie or two—and how could he say no? They had plans to do just that a few weeks ago. He set up his laptop, mainly because it had the bigger screen, and tried to keep his attention on the movie selection on Netflix, rather than on Jongin changing into basketball shorts, untucking his tail. 

“Horror, documentary, or Disney?” Sehun called. 

Jongin paused, bent over to pull his socks off. “Horror now. They’re more effective when you’re tipsy, I think.” 

Swallowing, thinking that he really should make it a habit to fill his water bottle more often, he selected one that appeared to have a human as the threat, as Sehun couldn’t suspend his disbelief toward ghosts unless it was like 4 am and he was loopy from lack of sleep. 

Sehun moved over to give Jongin some room, both of them arranging the pillows so they could comfortably sit up and lean back against the wall. 

Every time a jump scare would come, Sehun would either tense up, or see it coming and grab Jongin’s thigh. The third time he had done it, they had to pause the movie, as Jongin started smacking him, and then tackled him, Sehun laughing too hard to properly defend himself. 

Eventually he had to stop, because Jongin stopped watching the movie, and instead didn’t even react to the jump scares because Sehun would alert him to them, but by the end of the movie, they were both smiling. 

“Hey, I can run downstairs for a bottle of soju,” Jongin said suddenly, “If you felt like watching another movie.” 

Sehun wrinkled his nose, until Jongin amended “grapefruit flavored,” and then he was jumping to choose another movie, settling on Anastasia with a snicker. 

\-- 

“So,” Sehun started as the villain had his musical number, “You know why I picked this one?” 

Jongin looked at him, and even in the limited light from the laptop, Sehun could see the light flush on his cheeks. “Why?” 

He leaned in, whispering dramatically because he knew Jongin would hit him, “Because I wasn’t sure how you would react to seeing your people.” 

For a moment, he wondered if he had gone too far, but then Jongin smacked his arm, cooing, “At least I didn’t make you take the dick popsicle.” 

Sehun cackled, teasing, “But then I would have had two popsicles for the price of one, so who really would win there?” 

“The guy who likes phallic food in his mouth.” 

Winking, Sehun teased, “Sounds like an excuse if I’ve ever heard one.” 

Jongin pushed him again, hands curling around his bicep as he moved, head leaning against his shoulder, and then he just stayed there. It was…nice. The hybrid was warm, but the popsicle had put a chill in Sehun that the soju had only started to dispel, the goosebumps still on his arms attesting to that. 

The movie ended, and both of them felt kind of sleepy, but in the way that sitting still for so long made a person feel. Jongin moved first, going to sit up and crack his back, stretching and nearly smacking Sehun in the face. 

“Asshole.” He grumbled, wiggling the bottle of soju thoughtfully, to see if there was enough left to warrant putting it back in the fridge. 

Jongin responded to that by taking the bottle off of him and downing the remaining liquid, leaning heavily back against the wall after setting the bottle on the desk, stretching to reach, brushing rudely past Sehun, though the weakling still found his flush getting hotter at the contact. 

“Wait, I thought animals couldn’t have alcohol?” Sehun spoke before his common decency censor kicked in, and by the time he realized he might have said something rude, Jongin’s expression had iced over. 

Quicker than he could follow, Jongin pinned him to the bed, his eyes cold, and the way he held himself above Sehun, tail the only thing moving that he could see, he never looked more animal. 

Swallowing, fear rushing hot through him, he forced himself to speak, “I-I know you’re not—” 

“Do you?” Jongin stayed over him, hands pressing hard into the bed behind Sehun’s head. “I can smell your fear.” 

Sehun’s eyes went wide with panic, wondering if he could tell when he stared at him, feeling like his dirty laundry was about to come tumbling out, even if he swore he wouldn’t act on it, wouldn’t make a move that could make his roommate uncomfortable. 

Then Jongin smirked. “Just kidding~” 

Sehun gaped at him for a long moment, then he started smacking his chest, strength unrestrained in his flustered anger and subsequent relief. “Don’t do that! Oh my god.” 

Jongin laughed loudly, then flopped back onto the bed, letting out a loud bang when his head smacked the wall, his pained shout following shortly after. 

Feeling like that wasn’t enough, Sehun folded up his laptop, then moved to set it on his desk, not wanting to risk it around Jongin when he hadn’t quite talked himself out of killing the man yet. 

“You’re an asshole.” He finally settled on saying, gently setting down his laptop on the piles of crap that seemed to always end up appearing on his desk. 

“You can be, too.” Jongin reminded him, but for some reason that didn’t bother Sehun. 

“Go back to your own bed.” He ordered, “I want to sleep.” 

“No.” Jongin rolled over on his bed, twisting up Sehun’s sheets. “It’s warm here.” 

“Are you five?” Sehun went over and tried to yank his blankets away from him, but made no progress. 

Feeling Jongin’s triumphant grin in lieu of looking up to see it, he then turned and went over to Jongin’s bed, flopping onto it instead, proclaiming, “Then this is mine tonight!” 

He laid there for a moment, waiting for Jongin to argue, or come over to forcibly move him, but amazingly, he heard quiet breathing and nothing else after a few minutes. 

Smiling a bit triumphantly, he moved to kick off his jeans, not thinking why he might to keep those uncomfortable things on, and then he slid Jongin’s sheet up, Sehun nuzzling into the pillow with a vague sense of satisfaction, only thinking that Jongin’s pillow smelled vaguely gross, but also like his shampoo. 

The next morning, they both woke up and shot some jabs at each other for sleeping in the wrong beds, but they both seemed well rested. Whatever strange intimacy that seemed to exist in the haze from their shared beer and soju had evaporated like dew in the light of the morning, and routine continued as actual schoolwork became an obstacle. 

Sehun found that lab reports were becoming routine, though he didn’t hate writing them any less the more he had to do them. He could bang one out in about two hours if he had no distractions and wanted a good grade, but that didn’t make him hate the class any less. Somehow he always left his work for it until Friday, when he wanted to go out, but knew if he left it, that he would forget it until late Sunday, where he would have to have to attempt to write it through his weekend-long hangover. 

Thus, as much as he hated it, he forced himself to write it immediately after class on Friday, Sehun even going back to his dorm room to make certain nothing would distract him. For once, he was banking on the fact that Jongin seemed to have a much busier social life than him, and thus never spent long periods of time at their dorm. 

This anticipation drove him to his room, knowing he didn’t work well when others were around to distract him, and he put in his music, letting the aggressive rap music guide his hands, hoping it would encourage him to type faster. 

In this mindset, and unable to hear anything, Sehun typed steadfastly away until he was nearly done with the report, gritting his teeth so hard that he was beginning to fear for his next visit to the dentist. Lab reports sucked so hard; he would be glad when the semester was over, but he was halfway there. 

Then a hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he jumped so hard that he banged both of his knees off of the underside of his desk. 

“Fuck,” he swore in panic, yanking his earbuds out, as he wheeled around to face his sheepish roommate, “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” 

“Sorry,” Jongin’s eyes shone with barely concealed amusement, “I was wondering if you had plans tonight.” 

Sehun snorted, “Yes, if I get this shit done. I was going to go into town for some drinks.” 

“Just into town?” Jongin pursed his lips, “Not to Hongdae or Gangnam?” 

“Aww, you think I could get into a Gangnam club?” Sehun turned around in his chair again, “How sweet.” 

“Seriously.” He could practically hear Jongin’s annoyance, “You’re the kind of guy places like that like.” 

Feeling his back begin to stiffen, Sehun found his retort cut off by the other again, “Anyway, I was wondering if you’d want to come to a noraebang with me and the gang?” 

The gang. “Soojung, Eun-somehing, Solji, and Yixing?” 

“Cheetah, yeah.” Jongin snorted. “And our other friend, he’s been kind of busy, but he can’t resist the lure of a noraebang.” 

“Another show off.” Sehun laughed, “So he’ll fit right in.” 

He could feel Jongin glaring at him. “I’ll tell Solji you said that.” 

“No!” Sehun shifted to face him again, ignoring the smug look, “I’m assuming we’ll all chip in for soju?” 

Jongin nodded, and Sehun decided, though he warned him, “I’m not much of a singer.” 

“I figured.” Jongin shrugged, laughing only once Sehun threw a notebook at him, that he easily dodged. 

\-- 

He was the only human there. Sehun should have realized that when he asked Jongin who all was going, but somehow the idea completely slipped his mind. It didn’t scare him like it might have once upon a time, but the fact that he was crammed into such a small space with people who overwhelmingly disliked him stuck out prominently in his mind. 

Thankfully Solji and this new guy, a short guy with horns that curled around his temples, both loved to sing, competing in a high note contest after a ballad they “sang” with everyone else, even though they hogged the microphones. 

When everyone else shifted back to let the two have their moment with the screen, he was shocked to hear Soojung of all people say “They’re both spotlight hogs, don’t mind them.” 

Sehun laughed before he realized she had said something nice to him for once, but she already had shifted closer to Cheetah and Yixing before he could find words to reply. Instead he sent an amazed look to Jongin, who was looking at him, and the cat hybrid just hid a laugh of his own, Sehun’s heart beating a little harder at the expression. 

Cheetah didn’t suffer their greed easily; as soon as the song ended, she snatched the remote up, demanding, “If you two are going to do this _again,_ go get another room.” 

“No one else wants to rap.” The boy with the horns (ram horns maybe?) frowned at her, and Sehun noted with surprise how intimidating someone so short could look. 

“I’ll rap.” Sehun raised his hand before he knew what he was doing, noting faintly that Jongin had begun to raise his hand as well. 

Silence met his declaration, but if he thought he would get more than grudging acceptance, it would have shocked him. Cheetah nodded brusquely, then gestured for him to step forward. 

Solji handed him the microphone with a smile of encouragement, telling him, “Don’t worry, Cheetah tends to prefer Korean rap.” 

She selected something by the most recent winner of Show Me the Money, and started out the song, letting Sehun wait his turn. When it came, he gave it his all, trying to use the tone that he always had when going to _noraebangs_ in high school, managing to keep up the pace, miraculously. 

They got through the song, both bouncing and gesturing to the music by the end of it, Cheetah accidentally smacking Jongin near the end of the song, so that when the end came, both of them were panting slightly. 

When the selection screen came back, a few snickers passed through the booth. Cheetah looked at him, and her eyes shone with grudging amusement. 

“Not bad. But what was that voice you were doing?” 

“Voice?” Sehun blinked, “Was it hard to understand me or something?” 

“You sounded like a drunken pirate.” The short boy announced flatly, and everyone started snorting again, though Jongin smacked the boy’s arm. 

“Kyungsoo, be nice. He didn’t sound bad.” 

“Not if you like drunken pirates, I suppose.” Soojung cut in, and they all laughed. 

Jongin sent him a look, and Sehun fought down the surprise butterflies in his stomach at his roommate’s concern, though he waved him off; their laughter was the closest thing to acceptance Jongin’s friends had given him, and it certainly felt like they were relaxing. 

They drank soju as the songs passed, each person taking their turn to feed ₩500 coins into the machine, Solji running to buy them more when they needed it, as she knew she couldn’t be competitive with Kyungsoo when she wasn’t there. She couldn’t seem to help herself, and Kyungsoo refused to stop provoking her. 

A good way into tipsy, Sehun suddenly craved a smoke more strongly than he had in months, the scent so encrusted into the tiny box, even though the signs said ‘no smoking,’ so he called out to the others over some loud classic boy group song that he would be back. To his surprise, Soojung called that she would go with him, and he remembered that she smoked normally, so that wasn’t as weird as it could be—arguably if she had waited until he came back, it could look worse. And maybe she wanted to show Jongin she was trying. 

They stepped outside, and when Soojung drew a cigarette out of her purse, he stared at her, remembering that he hadn’t bought a pack of cigarettes in at least a month. 

Seeing his stare, she let out a sigh and held hers out. “Here. You owe me.” 

He took it with a grateful nod, waiting for her to draw out her own, and her light. 

She reached to light his first, then did her own, inhaling sharply, as she turned her gaze to the neon lights of the street. The wind blew, just cold enough to raise goosebumps on Sehun’s arms, tousling her hair familiarly. 

Sehun felt like he should say something, but the chill and the warmth of cigarette had him contently gazing over the groups of people and cars that came and went. He didn’t turn to see what Soojung was doing, figuring he’d see when she would stub her cigarette out, at the very least. 

“I’m surprised you came out here at all.” 

He glanced over at her, surprised to hear her speak. “Huh?” 

Soojung exhaled through her nose, a trick Sehun hadn’t mastered, and envied. “You left Jongin in there. With Kyungsoo and Yixing and me.” 

Sehun frowned. “But you’re out here? And why would it matter?” 

“You didn’t know I offered when you said you were going. And I’m assuming you were going to buy cigarettes, which would also include a ten-minute walk.” Soojung looked at him. “Are you that type that has to ‘test’ people? Or are you too stupid to worry?” 

“Worry about what?” He snapped, turning to face her fully. Her tone worried him. 

She took her time, inhaling slowly, exhaling it several long beats later. “Then you don’t know. He didn’t tell you.” Soojung’s voice didn’t suit her personality at all, Sehun was discovering; she looked traditionally pretty, and her voice was sweet. 

“Tell me what?” 

Soojung quirked an eyebrow. “You probably think I’m a slut.” 

The words shocked him, and though he had seen Soojung kiss several different people in the past, he found himself shaking his head. “I just thought hybrids were more affectionate, or something.” 

“Has Jongin ever kissed you casually?” She shot back, voice not quite angry, but a little more direct than the alcohol and cigarettes should have let it. 

When he hesitated, cheeks burning, both of her eyebrows went up, but she didn’t ask. 

“I’m poly.” She finally said, dropping the burning end of her cigarette to the pavement and crushing it under heel. “Cheetah’s not in on it, though she’ll kiss me when she gets drunk. I’ve known Jongin for about two years now.” The implication hung in the air, and the world started to spin for Sehun. Soojung either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “He dropped the poly thing a few months back, though. I always assumed it was because he wanted to go monogamous with Kyungsoo, but what do I know?” 

Sehun yelped then, the cigarette having burnt down to his fingers, and he dropped the stub onto the ground, watching it grow brightly against the darkness of the road. 

“I normally wouldn’t tell you about his personal life,” she shrugged, “but that much was my business, too. I thought he would have mentioned it to you by now.” 

“No,” Sehun finally found his voice, glad he had his wallet with him, “He likes to keep things from me until the very last possible moment.” 

Soojung might have hummed sympathetically, but he didn’t hear clearly, as he walked away from the _noraebang,_ toward the bus stop. He and Jongin had agreed to catch a cab together if it got too late, but as he checked his phone, he saw it was only about 11. 

When he got home, he fell into bed, too angry to enjoy the ease of the sleep that folded over his drunken self, and he slept peacefully until someone else clanged into the room, shoes thunking onto the floor in the entry way. 

“Sehun?” A voice slurred his name, “You left.” 

Sober now, he had not drunk enough alcohol to give him a headache, but just enough to give him extreme need to pee, he threw back the covers, intending on going straight to the bathroom. 

His gaze traitorously wandered to Jongin, though, and there it stuck on his messy hair falling into his face, his ears pressed flat to his head with worry, his body leaning heavily on the wall in an attempted effort to not sway. 

Sehun fought to keep his eyes off of where the man’s shirt dipped to reveal collarbone, and he inhaled sharply, reminding himself to stay in control. “Yeah. Started to get the spins.” 

“But you barely drank anything.” Jongin went to try to kick his shoes off and nearly fell over. 

Without thinking about it, Sehun started forward and grabbed his bicep to help support him. “Here, easy…” He helped him to the ground, ignoring the gaze that wandered over his own face. 

“Was it Soojung?” His voice grew threatening, “Did she say something rude to you?” 

Sehun blinked, finally looking at him. “No. She was normal. I mean, she let me bum a cigarette.” 

He nodded, seeming to approve, and then finally went to toe his shoes off. “So why did you leave?” 

“Like I said—” 

“Don’t lie.” Jongin cut in, lips puckered into a strangely sad frown, “Please.” 

Anger that Sehun had tried to repress welled up. “Why shouldn’t I? It’s basically the same thing you do to me. You hide things, you don’t confide in me, and even when I feel like we’re actually friends, I find out your friend group is basically all your exes?” 

Jongin grew quiet, then he growled, “ _Soojung,_ ” but it was Sehun’s turn to get angry. 

“No. Not Soojung. She ‘assumed’ you had told me. You even had her fooled into thinking we were friends.” 

Sehun shot to his feet, and when Jongin clumsily tried to follow him, he didn’t help him up, instead going to yank the door open. 

“Sehun,” Jongin’s voice sounded panicked, and he nearly paused, “Where are you going?” 

“I have to piss.” He growled, “I’ll lock the door when I get back.” 

Then he shut the door on Jongin’s reply. 

Admittedly, he spent a little too long in the bathroom, loitering and hoping the man would pass out. Even if it was on the floor, he could drag him into bed with little issue at that point. 

When he came back in, Jongin _had_ made it back to bed—Sehun’s bed, that is. 

He stared at him impassively, before calling, “Jongin, what are you doing?” 

The hybrid had cocooned himself up in the covers, face scrunched up with distress, and he couldn’t tell if the man was sleeping or not. 

Kicking off his sandals, he walked over to his bed and stared down at the hybrid, watching how his nose twitched when he stood there for a moment. 

“I know you’re awake.” Sehun sighed, “This is not the way to go about this. Go back to your bed.” 

Jongin steadfastly pretended to sleep, and while Sehun knew he could probably yank the other onto the floor, the odds that he would vomit on his blanket seemed too great, so instead he let out a bone-deep sigh and brought him the small garbage can just in case, before going to settle in Jongin’s bed. 

Sehun slept fitfully, his dreams plagued by Jongin laughing, laughing, and running, Sehun just behind, dodging the sharp horns of a ram as he tried and failed to ever catch the cat hybrid. 

He rose in the most uncomfortable position, a hand going up to run through his hair, and he discovered that for once he had woken up before Jongin. 

Taking a moment to examine the soft innocence of the man’s sleeping face, he shook off the clinging feelings as he remembered that he was angry at him. 

Rising to his feet, Sehun went to grab his shower caddy, steadfastly not looking at the other as he made his way out into the hall, and then down to the shower. It had gotten to the point where he recognized a lot of the guys in his hall, and he nodded to them as he went, though his mind was a million miles away. 

The shower helped dispel the grimy sensation that always seemed to accompany a bad night of sleep, but his stomach was still clenched, Sehun thinking on the short ram boy and how much he mattered to Jongin. If he didn’t bring him up at all, that could imply something very good or something very bad, and frankly, he had gone through enough initiation bullshit with the group of hybrids. They could have their poly shit, it wasn’t like that mattered to him, and if Jongin wanted that short shit—well, it wasn’t like they were ever a thing. 

He returned with a bigger scowl than when he had left, and when he kicked his sandals off, he marched immediately over to his wardrobe, refusing to even look at his own bed. 

Dressing, wondering where he could try to disappear for the day, he didn’t notice the shifting sounds of feet until a heavy pressure came to rest on his stomach and shoulder. Jongin had wrapped his arms around him, had rested his head in the crook of his neck. 

Sehun felt his face begin to flush, and he demanded, thankful his voice didn’t break like a teenager’s, “What are you doing?” 

Silence met his words, and he fought to move, to get away from the man, when Jongin finally spoke, “Are we just not meant to be friends?” 

That made him freeze in everything but words, spitting out, “It seems like that’s what you want. It’s not like I ever lied to you.” 

Rather than provoke him, Jongin clung on a bit tighter, sighing. “You don’t get it. I was trying to protect myself. It’s hard enough being a hybrid. Just because you’re good with that doesn’t mean you’re not a homophobe.” 

Sehun bristled, “Well, how would you know? It’s not like you ever asked. It’s not like I saw Soojung kiss Cheetah and _didn’t freak out._ ” 

“Wait, really?” Jongin’s voice dropped with shock, his head raising up, “Oh my god, Soojung is terrible.” 

Despite himself, Sehun snorted, though he immediately countered it with, “You’re so judgy toward me.” 

“You were an asshole with the hybrid thing.” 

Sehun sighed, “I’m sorry, okay? Besides, it’s not like you guys ever went full orgy in front of me or anything.” 

Jongin snorted, “You mean they.” He pulled back from the other, looking a tad uneasy, “I got out of the relationship a while back—not because they’re bad or anything, but as much as I like the cuddle piles, I wanted a partner.” 

“More bird of prey than cat.” Sehun teased, it evolving into a full laugh when Jongin let out a hiss. 

“Don’t compare me to birds, Oh Sehun, or I swear—” 

“What, you gonna cuddle me to death?” He taunted, “Or just steal my bed until I beg for it back?” 

Quicker than he could react to, Jongin pressed forward, slamming him back against the closed wardrobe, eyes glowing as he looked evenly into Sehun’s. They were the same height, and while he had known this for a while, the practice of it had his heart beating double time. 

Jongin stared down at him, and Sehun found himself returning it, eyebrows raised as he fought to thinking of something to say, but failed, unable to do anything beyond hold the gaze of the other. 

“So, the ram guy,” he found himself saying when the gaze became too much, “Why aren’t you with him?” 

That caused Jongin to break their stare, and he drew back, laughing, hands dropping as he shook his head. “What’s it to you?” 

“Nothing.” Sehun retorted a little too quickly, “I’m just nosy. Soojung said you two were the closest out of the group.” 

He watched the hybrid turn to go over to his own wardrobe, both of them tense, clearly unsure what game they were playing at, though Sehun noted that he felt so much colder with Jongin across the room from him. 

“First off, he’s a mouflon, and he will kill you if he hears you calling him a ram.” 

Irritation burned through him for a moment, but Jongin continued, “We were close, but I didn’t know how to be with just him. He’s…intense.” 

“Really,” Sehun intoned, even though he knew nothing about Kyungsoo the mouflon. 

Jongin reached behind him to yank his sleeping shirt up over his head, and he managed to shoot Sehun an unimpressed glare before he managed it, the lines of toned tanned back coming into view. 

“You don’t know shit, so don’t talk shit.” Jongin replied lightly. 

Tension crackled in the air, and Sehun took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to disperse it. 

“Then is there anything else I need to know?” 

The hybrid went searching for a shirt, shrugging, “I don’t know, mom.” 

Sehun was already marching for the door at that point, too frustrated by the man he thought he had gotten close to. “That’s fine. Don’t talk. I don’t want to hear it anymore, anyway.” 

He felt the man’s eyes come to rest on him. 

“You can be such an asshole.” 

“And you can be such a passive, secretive piece of shit!” Sehun wheeled around, one shoe on his foot, the other in his hand. “I thought I liked you, but you don’t even apparently like me enough to talk to me, or to warn me that I’m going out with _literally all of your exes._ ” 

Too late, he realized what he had said when Jongin’s eyes went wide. 

“I, that is—” 

“You like me?” Jongin stared at him, and for the life of him Sehun couldn’t move. 

“A-As a friend.” He tried to save it, hating the lie he could taste in his mouth, but for the life of him, it seemed like Jongin wasn’t quite buying it either. 

“Really?” His voice sounded so quiet, so unassuming, like that was the last thing, and the worst, that Sehun could have said. 

Dropping his shoe to slide it on, Sehun shrugged, unable to find the words. 

Miraculously, Jongin let him put his shoes on and leave, though Sehun certainly didn’t know what he would do when he came home that night—and for once, he didn’t want to run somewhere else. He knew it had been brewing for a while, and the sooner they addressed it, perhaps the sooner things could really settle somewhere normal for them. 

The last thing he expected to see when he got home was his room full of the usual suspects: Solji, Soojung, and Yixing in varying stages of makeup, seated at Jongin’s desk and on his bed. 

“What’s going on?” He asked curiously, knowing it was Saturday, and partially wondering if he could tag along, as his other plan for the night didn’t exactly appeal to him as much as the plans the hybrids usually got into. 

“Eunyoung’s performing tonight.” Solji announced proudly, “So we’re going to support her.” 

Sehun had to fight from cringing at her half-full face of makeup, so instead he directed his attention to Soojung, who at least seemed to be putting on her makeup evenly. “So why are you guys here?” 

“Because Jongin can’t be a coward here.” Soojung smirked as she applied her blush, “We heard what you said, human boy. And since it’s the first time Solji’s actually beaten me in a bet, I decided I had to reestablish my romance skills.” 

Not thinking to ask what the bet was about, Sehun instead questioned, “That’s all well and good, but where’s Jongin?” It felt so strange not to deny his feelings, when he’d barely come to terms with them himself, but he could tell by the way they all looked at him that they were…proud of him. 

“He ran to buy us chicken.” Yixing replied cheerfully, though his eyes seemed a bit more focused than the others, “You really shook him up.” 

Sehun shrugged, hands going into his pockets. “I didn’t really admit it to myself before this morning anyway, so I kind of relate.” 

It just sort of fit; like when a doctor finally diagnoses a disease correctly and the antibiotics alleviate the symptoms. 

Yixing squinted at him, and he watched the man’s tail curl around the bed post almost anxiously. “That seems a bit too good to be true, if you ask me.” 

Seeing Yixing get protective surprised him, as he seemed like one of the more laid back of the group, so Sehun found himself answering more nervously, “I mean, we’ve been spending a lot of time together, and he is gorgeous.” 

The last phrase turned all of their heads to him, and something collectively seemed to relax. 

Sensing that, he asked, a little defensively, “What?” 

“We weren’t sure if you were gay,” Soojung explained simply, dusting highlighter onto her cheeks, “I mean the hybrid thing is big, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t like dick.” 

Sehun found himself choking, but his definite declaration of being into guys appeared to have appeased them, at least a bit. 

Solji shot Soojung a reprimanding look. “Go easy on him. It’s not exactly easy to be gay, either.” 

She shrugged, switching to her other cheek, “Cry me a river. At least he admitted it.” 

Unsure what to say after that, Sehun changed the subject. “So, where are we going and how should I dress?” 

Soojung glanced up at him, “Dress like you’re going to a club, but less like a rich boy. Dress like you actually get laid once in a while.” 

Sehun didn’t know what came over him, but he found himself spouting out, “Honey please. I’ve sucked more dick than you, I’m sure.” 

Shocked silence fell over the room, and Soojung tossed her hair as Yixing started to laugh. 

“Wow, there was a proud homo under that bland racist exterior.” 

He went to retort again, but the door swung open, a rather disgruntled Jongin standing there with a box of chicken. 

“It’s about time!” Soojung called, “Solji and I can’t do our lips until we eat, you know.” 

“I know, I know.” He grumbled, sounding like he was trying to get into the spirit, though something held him back 

Sehun thought of his hearing and wondered what part of the conversation he got to come in to, though he didn’t bother to ask. 

They all gathered around the desks and on both beds, now that Sehun was there, to eat their share of the chicken. With so many of them, it was soon gone, and Solji and Soojung quickly moved on to do their lips, the latter announcing, “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave like now.” 

Scrambling through his clothes, Sehun settled on a pair of dark wash jeans and a loose tank top that he covered with a well-loved hoodie. 

“Hiding the inner ho.” Soojung noted with a coy smile, and Sehun would have reached out to swat her if they had been closer. 

Instead they all hustled out the door, Jongin sliding his beanie back into place, Sehun forlornly thinking how much he could do with his hair if let himself go outside without his hat. 

They mostly paired off, though Sehun was shocked to see Jongin on his own, not really clinging to Soojung or Yixing like he would have expected. It kept distracting him till the point that Solji pinched his inner elbow, teasing, “You’re lucky he’s only a little less thick than you. Strangers see how hard you’re staring at him.” 

He dropped his gaze to his lap as the bus bumped along, and Solji cut in again, “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to be direct with him. I’m sorry if I’m butting in, but he’s used to lies and secrecy. A person can only take so much of that.” 

Sehun bit his lower lip in consideration, Solji speaking again in a way that belayed her nerves, “Of course, don’t do it until after the concert, if you’re going to do it tonight. If anything upstages Eunyoung’s big night, she would probably kill you herself.” 

Raising an eyebrow at her, surprised and pleased to see her blush, Sehun replied gently, “I didn’t even say I’d talk to him, and you’re practically scheduling it for me. I’m not even sure I’m ready to admit it, you know. It’s a big leap. I’m so far away from home, and I feel as if we haven’t really known each other long enough to know how well we would work in the long run. Plus, we’re roommates…” 

Remembering Jongin’s superior hearing, his head shot up in panic, but Solji rested a hand on his elbow. “He’s got earbuds in, and I can hear the music.” 

He relaxed. “Why’s he listening to music when he could be talking to us?” 

“He isn’t, though. I think he heard you talking to Soojung earlier.” She smiled a bit, “It took us all off guard a bit.” 

Sehun found himself blushing now, “It’s not as bad as it sounds: I messed around with Chanyeol and some other friends a lot in high school.” 

She shrugged fluidly, “Sounds like you and Jongin have quite a bit in common.” 

“What?” 

“He knew Kyungsoo from high school, and he messed around with this group for a while, too.” 

Just like that, she had killed his good mood, but he made an effort not to let it show, though when they got to the subway, he was careful to offer her a seat first. It was respectful, but it also got her away from him, so it was hard to hear each other without yelling. Jongin stood a few people away and he had to fight to keep his gaze off of the other, wanting to know what it meant that he had such a distinct connection with Kyungsoo, but could just walk away from it. Unless something had happened? But did you stay friends with a cheater? 

Vowing to put it out of mind, lest it drive him crazy, he breathed a sigh of relief when they got to Hongdae; home of the street performers. 

Thankful for his jacket, he followed the group as they loped from street to street, Sehun partially wondering why they weren’t tipsy, though when he asked, it at least got a small snort from Jongin. 

“Same reason we want to be on time,” Yixing replied cheerfully, “Cheetah would kill us if we got drunk and potentially didn’t see her.” 

That seemed sage enough to Sehun, but he felt kind of bad for Jongin, who looked like a drink would majorly help him. 

A few blocks down they found the correct section of road, the courtyard hollowed for good acoustics. The previous act had finished, and her people were adjusting the mic system for her. She looked particularly vampy that night—a strange term to use with a big cat hybrid, but her dark eyes and lips made her look ferocious. 

Despite himself and his rather rocky relationship with her in the past, he found the crowd’s excitement racing through him as well, people murmuring with anticipation, people assembling when they saw the look of the girl. What could she possibly be doing? 

When everything was squared away, she brought the mic to her lips, and introduced herself, the music cutting in as she launched into her first song, a sort of cypher as she spoke about her history and her purpose. 

She put on an amazing show; Sehun found he could barely look away, much less do anything else while she rapped, her verses slowing and speeding up depending on the subject matter, swinging wildly around with aplomb. 

When she reached the end, her bangs stuck to her forehead with sweat, and the crowd roared. Yixing would later joke to him that they knew it went well, because their first drink of the evening was on her. It was the first time he had seen her smile around him, and Sehun started to relax, drinking with the others in the street, just enjoying the atmosphere. 

For the first time since that morning, his thoughts were taken away from Jongin, and he had almost an uninterrupted hour of peace—until he spotted a certain pair of horns in the distance. 

Kyungsoo and Jongin sat on one of the street benches, bodies turned toward each other as they drank their convenience store alcohol and talked. 

In that moment, Sehun wished he had the super hearing of a hybrid, as he watched Kyungsoo lean toward Jongin, his body language sensual, lips soft as he said something to him. 

Sehun’s hand clenched unconsciously around the bottle as Jongin looked at Kyungsoo, his gaze level, almost sleepy looking as the man raised a hand to rest on the side of his neck. 

He couldn’t watch this. He _shouldn’t_ watch this. 

Sehun watched Kyungsoo touch his roommate, watched the way his hand glided down to rest on the crux between his neck and shoulder, watched the way he leaned in, body curving into the touch in a way that belayed how much he wanted it. 

Completely human, Sehun felt the animalistic rage that wanted to send him over to them, wrench them apart and scream at both of them; Kyungsoo because he was supposed to be over Jongin, and Jongin because he knew, he knew how he felt, and he didn’t even have the decency to let him down gently. 

Their lips met and Sehun decided to be a coward, raising his soju bottle in a toast to the performance, to the newly reunited couple, and then he drank desperately, ignoring the subtle sour taste until the bottle emptied out. 

Going to find another drink, the world shaking from the force of his emotions, or perhaps just how much alcohol he’d had that night, he entered into a convenience store for another, then settling outside it to drink, not wanting to see anything. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there nursing his new bottle of soju, but he only looked up when someone stood over his table. Surprised to see Cheetah, the least likely person to come looking for him, he toasted her, slurring, “Great show, you did a great job.” 

She stared down at him, unimpressed, and he offered her the bottle, “Want a drink?” 

Quick as her namesake, her fingers went down to grab him by the ear, yanking him up into a standing position, ignoring his yelping to growl, “Solji is worried sick. Why did you wander off without telling anyone where you went?” 

“Solji.” He laughed, before crying out again as she yanked his ear. 

“Don’t,” she stared at him, expression somehow both stern and angry, “I know you’re dealing with your angsty teen bullshit right now, but you have no right to worry her like that. She was always on your side, even before we knew you and Jongin were going to have issues. Even when we thought you would. So suck up your stupid pride and come apologize.” 

Thoroughly chastened, he bowed his head and allowed her to guide him back. 

When she came into view, flushed and obviously worried sick, he went over to her of his own volition, reaching to hug her, mumbling, “I’m sorry, really. Thank you for worrying.” 

Sehun kept his eyes shut as he felt her hug back, sighing, “I’m just glad you’re okay…” 

Part of him wanted to get annoyed at her fussing, but the other part knew he only felt angry because the others eyes were on him. Jongin and Kyungsoo’s, too. 

“I think I need to head back.” He told her honestly. 

Rather than reminding him that the subway would be up in an hour, she nodded, “Do you want me to come with you?” 

The gesture reminded him so much of Chanyeol that he nearly cried. “I…yes please.” 

She nodded, then announced, though all of the hybrids had heard their conversation, “I’m going to take Sehun home; he’s not feeling too well.” 

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see if Jongin would butt in—after all, he was his roommate. But he held his tongue, staring blankly at them, Kyungsoo planted solidly beside him. 

Sehun wished everyone a good night, told Cheetah again how good she was, and then followed Solji to the cab, trying to ignore how no one really looked mad at him…mostly they just looked pitying. 

When they were on the highway, he turned toward the window and quietly let himself cry. 

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he let it rest there, enjoying the comfort. Solji likely knew what had had seen—not much seemed to get past the group—and while she wasn’t exactly the type to play favorites, he was relieved at the freedom she had given him. It didn’t matter that Jongin had promised him nothing and was a hybrid; Sehun was her friend, too. 

Fighting off the urge he had to hug her, he reached for his phone, texting Chanyeol, simply, “Any chance u wud skip class Monday?” 

_> y_

Sehun inhaled, hating how weak and shivery he sounded. Solji’s hand started to rub his arm, and he replied, “I need terrible food and someone to hold me.” 

_> shit_

He repressed a laugh at the man’s reply, and though hope stirred in his chest, it felt feeble in comparison to the boldness that had been there only hours earlier. 

_> fine, but you owe me, oh sehun._

Reading the message a few times to make sure he hadn’t imagined the words, Sehun slumped back against the seat, letting his eyes close. 

The next thing he knew, Solji was shaking him gently awake, telling him to get out while she paid the driver. Sehun tried to argue with her to help her pay, but she just kept shooing him away until he felt too uncomfortable to insist anymore. 

Obeying, he stumbled onto the sidewalk, staring into the car until his friend rejoined him. 

“You didn’t have to pay,” he mumbled, and she gave him a smile that clearly wasn’t for her benefit. 

“Of course I didn’t. Now, come on; I bet your bed is calling to you.” 

She was right; Sehun followed as she led him to the dorm, entering the code then guiding him to the correct elevator. 

When they arrived at his floor, he knew he should feel nervous in case the others saw him bringing a hybrid girl to his room after hours, but he just couldn’t care. The only person he would want to bring him back with had just kissed his ex. 

Sehun stopped at that thought, and Solji reached his room door before she realized he wasn’t behind her. 

Shooting him a look, she marched back to him, ordering, “You have to open it, Sehun. I don’t know the code.” 

He gave her a baleful look then shuffled over, muttering, “I don’t want to be here.” 

“Tough.” He startled at her stern tone, and she had the grace to look apologetic as she kicked off her shoes. “Look, you two have spent enough time avoiding each other and running from your problems. If you start doing it back to him, this will be it.” 

Gentle hands found his arms, guiding him toward the sweet siren of his bed. Solji continued as she helped him: “I don’t know why he kissed Kyungsoo. But we both know he heard your admission today, so I would frankly say you at least deserve to know why he didn’t say anything to you.” 

“Eavesdropping is rude.” Sehun agreed distractedly, cringing when that pulled a laugh out of his company. 

“So even if you can’t do it tomorrow, promise me you’ll talk to him?” Solji pleaded. 

Sehun looked at her; it seemed as if he wouldn’t be able to get free if he didn’t agree. 

Thinking he could put it off as long as he wanted, Sehun agreed in a rather sulky tone, before letting Solji press him down into bed, hands gentle, though not nearly familiar enough to soothe his loneliness. 

When it came time for her to leave, he almost felt bad that he had manipulated her into thinking he would deal with his problems like an adult—but the way the next morning unfolded told him the dirty truth. He had been manipulated by her, not the other way around. 

Jongin slept in his bed, breaths barely making a sound, the action more a motion that shifted under his sleeping shirt and the sheet, where he hadn’t kicked it away. 

Swallowing thickly, forcing himself not to appreciate how lovely he looked with his ears out, body nearly exposed to his eyes, Sehun rose to gather his clothes. He would dress before his shower so he didn’t have to come back to the room. 

His closet doors glided open without a creak, and he went to pull his shirt up over his head, kicking off his pants so he stood there in his boxers. Reaching to grab a shirt, he stilled as his hands brushed over the shirt he had worn when Jongin and he had kissed. 

Letting out a shaky breath, apparently worse at pushing away his feelings than even he had thought, he yanked a different shirt off of the hanger, everything silent and still like a winter’s morning. 

Sehun dressed like that, but when he turned around to fetch his laptop and bag, he found Jongin awake, eyes on him, though they held no specific emotion. 

It was possible no one had told him he had seen. 

Ignoring him, he walked over to his desk, fighting the urge to say something to him, as even ‘good morning’ would open up too much possibility. 

“You scared Solji, last night.” Jongin finally said. Sehun had hoped he would just go back to bed. 

“Yeah, well, I apologized.” He replied shortly, “I’ve already been ranted at.” 

Scrambling for a beanie of his own, he went to put on his coat, knowing all he had left were his shoes, then he could go distract himself in a coffee shop, shower later when Jongin wouldn’t see him going fully dressed to the showers. 

“So you’re really just going to leave.” 

He froze up by the door, like a spouse that had been caught cheating. 

“Yeah?” Sehun fought to keep his voice level, “Something wrong with that?” 

“I saw you,” Jongin spoke softly, “After I pulled away from Kyungsoo. I thought you might just have wanted another drink or something, but disappearing?” 

“Oh, sure. I’m madly in love with you, so I had to go drown my sorrows.” Sehun spat, “You found out _secondhand_ not even a day ago. You didn’t bother to talk to me about it, but now it’s free game, right?” 

“That’s not fair,” Jongin sat up in bed, ears flicking, “You scared me. We were worried you would go do something stupid. I have a right to not talk to you about your feelings; that’s your job, if I’m not mistaken.” 

“Fine. Then I choose to not talk about them.” Sehun spat, “I don’t care what you do. Do whatever you like, just leave me alone.” 

He grabbed for his shoes, figuring he would put them on in the stairwell or something, and then went to leave, though he found Jongin’s hand on his arm, pulling him back before he could turn the door handle. 

“What?” Sehun snapped, “After all of that, what could you possibly still want from me, Jongin?” 

The hybrid gave him an unimpressed look. “It’s not like you thought to ask me.” 

“Then what do you want?” 

Jongin’s hand slipped off of his arm, and Sehun admitted he was sad to lose the contact. 

“I want to know how you feel.” He asked, voice soft. 

Sehun swallowed, wondering if he could deny him that, wondering if he wanted to. 

“I don’t know how to put it.” He decided on honesty, “A lot of it is physical.” 

Jongin looked away, nodding, “You have a thing for hybrids?” 

“What?” Now that Sehun hadn’t been expecting at all. “A ‘thing’ for hybrids?” 

“A kink, a fetish, everyone gets curious once or twice, it seems.” 

Sehun stared at him, frustrated that Jongin seemed unable to meet his eyes. “No! That isn’t it.” His voice was vehement, “I meant like your chest, your lips, your eyes.” 

Jongin snorted at the last one, and he went on, “You have to know how good looking you are. Not in spite of your ears, and not because of them, either. You’re just gorgeous.” 

The hybrid finally turned his gaze back to him. “How can I believe you?” 

Sehun groaned, “You could think about it? Like, I always respect you, I don’t touch when you’re not comfortable, I try to make jokes so you know I’m not uncomfortable, but I try to make sure you don’t feel like we’re different.” 

“We are, though.” Jongin smiled sadly, like he thought he had just played his trump card, while it only made Sehun angrier. 

“Who’s the one who’s making it about race?” He stepped forward, body swinging toward him, “I don’t care that you’re a hybrid! I didn’t even at the beginning, even when I said that stupid shit. I misunderstood, but that’s never kept me from wanting to be around you or spend time with you. Isn’t that what counts?” Sehun stopped when he was right in front of his roommate, chest clenching painfully. 

Jongin just looked at him, and he didn’t think he could take it if the man tried to run. 

“Tell me you don’t like me.” Sehun spat out, “At least show me that you respect me enough to turn me away. But don’t tell me this was based out of some fixation—because I might be fixated on you, but it’s how you feel when we’re watching a movie, how you look when your eyes have that sleepy look. I like you, I’m attracted to you. Kim Jongin the hybrid. Kim Jongin my friend. Okay?” 

They stared at each other for a long moment before Jongin scoffed, “That was dramatic.” 

Sehun wasn’t in the mood; he turned toward the door, expecting hands to stop him again, and thus continuing on despite them. 

“Sehun, please—” 

“Stop deflecting!” He tried to shake him off. “Either answer or don’t. It’s kind of obvious how you feel now, I think.” 

“No, seriously…” The hands on him suddenly grabbed harder and he found himself being yanked off balance, stumbling into Jongin’s chest. 

His heart felt like it would give out at that moment, and he glanced up, though he couldn’t see Jongin’s face from that angle. 

“I don’t know how I feel about you, alright? I mean, I’ve thought about it.” 

Sehun yanked backward, taking in the hybrid’s flushed cheeks with a vague satisfaction. At least this wasn’t hard just for him. 

“But you’re a human. And I’m a hybrid and that’s just how this is.” He explained patiently, like he had heard those exact words himself, and was just parroting them. “We couldn’t be together in public. I mean, gay men can’t be together in public. We could be in legit danger if either of us were found out to be dating.” 

He just looked at the hybrid, and he replied, knowing it was low, knowing it was expected, but unable to care, “You’re not afraid to kiss Kyungsoo in public.” 

To his credit, Jongin didn’t say he had told him so, and he instead shrugged, hands going to his hips, like he was looking for pockets and forgot his boxers didn’t have any. 

“Maybe you’re the one that doesn’t like humans.” Sehun continued, voice growing in volume, “Maybe when you tried to say that I was rude and racist, maybe that whole time you were only pretending to be my friend. Maybe I was wrong about you—” 

This time when Jongin dragged him forward, he didn’t fight it, though he didn’t know Jongin would kiss him until it was happening, one hand on his arm, the other rising up to the back of his neck so they could make sure their lips didn’t bang together. 

This glide of their lips together was like the clash of thunder, the banging of doors after a fight, though there was just enough of a tremble that neither of them knew where it came from. 

Sehun’s hands rose to cling to Jongin’s sleep shirt, and his vulnerability came out, his fear and sadness that he liked the other so much that the confession that wasn’t and the rejection that _definitely_ wasn’t hurt so much. 

They parted after a long moment, and Sehun sighed, glancing at the other, loving once more that they were the same height. Jongin had a hesitant look on his face, and his ears were perked, them sending mixed signals together. 

“Maybe we should just…try?” Sehun offered, knowing he still didn’t have a reply from the other about his feelings, “Fuck everyone else. See how it works out on our own terms.” He knew so much wasn’t in their favor, with them being roommates, and the cross species thing, but Jongin ran, always, and Sehun saw now that he might be able to stop him if he tried hard enough. 

Jongin looked at him, and he saw him, for the first moment: The hesitance, the desire, and the fact that the hand on the back of his neck was stroking over the baby hairs. 

“If things get too hard, I promise I’ll do my best so you feel safe still living here.” Sehun added, knowing he sounded desperate, but unable to keep the words in. 

They, above everything else, seemed to work. Jongin nodded, and offered him a smile that really made him think they might have a chance. 

\-- 

After that, Sehun went out for the day as per usual, unable to think or process anything, though he had enough foresight to call Chanyeol, postponing their visit for another time. 

“Probably for the best,” his friend chuckled, “That teacher hates me already.” 

The loyalty soothed him enough, but when the day ended and he went back to his room, he didn’t know what to expect. 

Jongin texting in his bed wasn’t the farthest thing, but it was still a pleasant surprise, the cat boy’s chin propped on his pillow that he had dragged over. 

Sehun kicked off his shoes, and while the other didn’t look over, he knew he had heard him come in. 

Bedtime from then on was them in bed together, too nervous to risk pushing them together, and more than willing to manage in the smaller beds. It got to the point where Sehun would come home happy from a bad day, because he knew he would get to spoon with Jongin. 

Neither of them spoke to his friends about it, and he found himself only confiding in Jongdae, whispering on the bus without looking at him how happy just lying next to Jongin made him. 

“Sounds pretty fucking gay.” The man would comment, and Sehun would give a happy sigh. 

“Yeah, isn’t it?” 

Facing the world still seemed so hard, and the prospect frightened both of them; if they couldn’t even tell their friends, they would never be able to go out solo. And beyond that, they didn’t kiss, didn’t hold hands around the room. When they would watch movies together, when they would go to sleep, in the dark, their bodies finally dared mold together, Sehun swearing he could draw the other just from the sensation of his back pressing to the muscles of his roommate. 

It started out like that and went like that for a while, Sehun’s hunger for his…whatever they even were growing exponentially, until the day that they settled down to a random horror movie they had torrented off of the Internet, having been told by Chanyeol that it really was “a mindfuck you guys, seriously.” 

However, twenty minutes into it and Sehun felt like he understood his best friend’s motives a little too well; this killer only struck when people were fucking. There wasn’t one set group of kids that was getting picked off, though there was one set group trying to catch him to avenge their friends’ deaths, but every time the movie showed a death, without fail, it was a couple boning in some new, extravagant way. 

Movie sex wasn’t exactly titillating, but then they cut to one couple at a college, the dorm room looking close enough to theirs that, before Sehun could stop himself, he was imagining them in the couple’s place. 

Instead of the girl pressed to the door, her cheeks flushed because she thought people in her hall could hear her, he felt his own back against the hard wood, letting Jongin cage him in, their chests pressing together as they kissed feverishly, hands grasping at clothes like they could will them off of each other’s bodies. 

Without missing a beat, they parted and pulled their shirts off, the guy’s hands going shamelessly to her butt as he lifted her up. 

Sehun shifted uncomfortably, forcing his mind away from the image as his pants grew tighter, trying to think of less sexy things—like of Solji knitting. He couldn’t have a boner with his second mother in mind. 

But she went away like fog at noon when his wiggling accidentally shifted him back, pressing his ass against Jongin. The man let out a little choked noise that belayed his own arousal, and Sehun froze as he processed this. 

They both went still as statues, Sehun desperately hoping someone would make a move, someone would touch, when he felt Jongin withdrawing a bit. 

“No,” he whispered, feeling horrendously disappointed, “Wait, please.” 

Jongin stilled, and Sehun rolled himself over, uncaring about the movie as he stared up at the noted panic on his…whatever-they-were’s face. 

“Don’t you want me?” He asked, hating how shameless he sounded, but knowing he couldn’t play it safe if he wanted this. “You wouldn’t have said yes to this if you weren’t attracted to me.” 

A startled laugh escaped Jongin’s lips, and he admitted, “You’re right. I’m just worried that…once there’s no barrier left…” 

Sehun’s heart swelled, and he found himself leaning up to capture Jongin’s lips, touch hard as his hands slipped up into the man’s hair, possessive with assurance. Jongin was beautiful, someone he could never get tired of looking at. 

He hoped Jongin understood; and thankfully after a minute, the hybrid unfurled from his tense position and rolled them, settling over top of Sehun to prolong the kiss, tongue sweeping over his thin lower lip to meet the other. 

Letting out a small noise of happiness, Sehun’s arms wound around the man’s body, hands going to rest on his shoulder blades, trying to coax him down further as he kissed him. 

They kissed and drew back, and kissed again before Jongin got the message, hips descending to press to Sehun’s, tentatively grinding against him like he thought a human couldn’t take it, or like he thought one of them had never slept with another before. 

Sehun loved the way Jongin finally seemed to touch and want on his own, so he let the rolls of the hybrid’s hips go largely unassisted, his only canting up a little to show his enthusiasm, breaths of pleasure catching in between them like shared thoughts until they were grinding on each other, first a little bit, and then with as much pressure as they both dared. 

When Jongin finally pulled back to break the kiss, Sehun took one look at his lips, a little swollen from all of the kisses, and he stared up into his eyes, noting the arousal with delight as he flipped them so Jongin laid on his back. 

The hybrid’s gaze darkened a bit, but before he could potentially push back up, Sehun asked, “Can you take your shirt off?” 

Something in his tone must have resonated, because the confrontational look faded, and Jongin sat up just enough to pull the t-shirt over his head, unveiling the planes of smooth, gorgeous skin. 

Sehun swallowed thickly, and had to recollect himself for a moment, before whispering, “Can I take your pants off?” 

A pause, then Jongin nodded slowly, bangs falling into his eyes as Sehun shuffled down so he knelt next to the hybrid’s legs as he yanked the pants down, holding in a gasp when Jongin’s hips raised to help him, the pants coming off smoothly. 

He was so, so gorgeous; and all Sehun could do was stare. 

After a moment, something warm and soft wrapped around his wrist, and he turned to stare; it was the first time he had had any contact with Jongin’s tail. It might have been a test, but when he turned his questioning gaze to Jongin, the other was looking at him almost shyly, like he never had doubted his reaction at all. 

“Touch me?” The hybrid asked, though his tone gave nothing away. 

Sehun shifted to straddle Jongin’s gorgeous thighs, hands greedy as they started at his hips, then ran up the bones to his stomach, touching like explorers claimed land, fingers racing over the uncharted territory, loving the texture and warmth of his skin. 

“Beautiful.” He mouthed to himself, before bending down to kiss up his abs, then over a pectoral, listening to Jongin’s sigh of pleasure with an amazed focus that had him moving up to the man’s nipple without really thinking about it, lips brushing over the bud reverently. 

He felt Jongin shudder beneath him, and Sehun couldn’t have said if a sound was made or not—but he could feel his nerves, his arousal, and his tongue darted out to trace the nipple, hands running up the length of Jongin’s body to rest just below where he worked, his head swinging over to give the other nipple equal treatment. 

As he moved, his right hand coming up to replace his mouth, his gaze fell on Jongin’s, and he felt arousal throb through him, urging him to grind downward, because the look in the hybrid’s eyes assuaged all of his fears. 

Bending down, he let out a surprised noise that settled into a pleased sigh as Jongin’s hands came up to brush through his hair encouragingly. They never touched like this, innocent as Jongin’s was, and it made Sehun feel warm, like he could lay there forever. 

“Jongin…” he breathed, drawing back, then leaning forward to search for his lips again. 

Said man leaned forward to meet his lips with his own, and they shared a sweet kiss, for a moment, but Sehun’s hands were itching to touch and appreciate what he had lusted after for months. 

One slid down, retracing the path he had just traveled, to go rest over the present bump in Jongin’s boxers, pressing down and receiving a delicious growl against his lips for his trouble. 

Immediately Jongin broke the kiss, eyes wide, “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—” 

For once, Sehun knew exactly what to do; he leaned in to give the hybrid’s lips another quick kiss. “It’s okay. Really. I want you to behave normally with me.” 

He saw the question in Jongin’s eyes as to what normal meant, but the truth was it meant whatever Jongin desired, because Sehun knew who he wanted, and as long as it was Jongin beneath him, he would be happy. 

Sehun’s hand rubbed him over his boxers again, both to draw him out of his own head, and because he wanted to touch more, taste more. Leaning in to kiss him again, moving with more hunger and impatience this time, his hand slipped inside the hybrid’s boxers, going to grip the man’s shaft, pulling him out over top of the elastic. 

Jongin shuddered beneath him, and Sehun started to stroke him gently, mindful of the friction that could come from their not using lube yet, fist settling so he could pull back the foreskin on the man’s cock, Sehun already sliding backwards in his desire to taste. 

“Sehun?” He watched the man blink in confusion, before it registered what he must be doing. 

Settling alongside his thighs, he saw only a glimpse of Jongin’s features as they turned greedy, before his head sank down and he kissed over the hybrid’s exposed head. 

One hand came to rest on his shoulder, claws digging in, and that pushed him faster, lips sliding apart to encircle the head, Sehun giving a test suck, prepared for the saltiness. He hadn’t lied earlier about having sucked a lot of dick, and the practice got him used to the taste enough that it didn’t put him off. 

His tongue probed the head slightly, running over the slit and producing Jongin’s first moan, loud and shameless. Sehun felt his head swim a bit as all of his blood rushed south, and then he was sinking further down on his roommate’s cock, bobbing his head a bit to accommodate for the size. Fitting all of it wasn’t really possible, but he made the best attempt he could, knowing that his cock was much larger, and Jongin deserved as much attention as Sehun would be getting when he put it in him. 

Squeezing the base teasingly as he fucked his own face, Jongin’s nails broke the skin on his shoulder, as he warned, “Sehun, pull back.” 

He hated the thought of having to let the arousal go without bringing him to orgasm, but the point of this was so he would have some base pleasure for when Sehun would stretch him. 

Pulling back with a rather vulgar pop, he stared up at Jongin with a grin, faltering at the intensity on the hybrid’s features. 

“Lube. Now.” Jongin ordered, his voice gravelly with desire. 

Sehun jumped to obey, climbing off of the bed to fetch his lube from inside his desk, ashamed at his own hardness, knowing it came solely from touching the other. When he brought it back over, he uncapped the lube and went to pull Jongin’s boxers down. 

Before he knew what was happening, Sehun found himself on his back, the lube now in Jongin’s hands. His mouth went dry, wondering if he was about to see Jongin finger himself. 

Then Jongin pulled _his_ pants down, and he barely had time to protest before Jongin was working a finger into him. 

Sehun’s back arched with a surprised cry of pleasure, it having been so long since he had last put anything up his butt. “Wh-What are you doing?” He swallowed thickly. 

Jongin looked at him through his messy bangs, finger undulating carefully inside of the human. “What do you mean?” 

“You’re,” Sehun flushed, “fingering me? Is it normally reciprocal for hybrids?” 

“For fingering?” Jongin looked at him, dark amusement in his eyes, more lube being squeezed out as he added a second finger. 

It felt so strange to be opened up like this, Sehun squirmed at the intrusion, though he couldn’t deny how good it felt, how dirty it felt to be split open just with the fingers of another. 

“Yes.” He mumbled, head falling back a bit with a blush, unable to watch the fingers inside of himself any longer without feeling shy. 

“No, we don’t.” Jongin laughed, moving his fingers in a deliberate scissoring motion, spreading him as wide as he dared, going a little harder every few pulls. “I’m not going to give you time to stretch me. I didn’t think you’d be that patient, either.” 

“Wait.” Something didn’t make sense, and he didn’t even flinch as the tip of a third finger probed at him, “So why am I being stretched?” 

Jongin’s fingers stilled as soon as the third breeched him, and the hybrid stared down at him, blankly, “Because we’re about to have sex, Sehun. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“You’re going in?” He panicked, though his squirming did admittedly feel great on the fingers. 

“Not yet,” Jongin snorted, starting to work his fingers in the other again, “Almost, though.” 

His assurance pulsed through Sehun on a new wave of arousal, and he noted with shame that he didn’t need to touch his cock to keep his erection. “But, I thought I was going to fuck you?” 

The hybrid didn’t even pause that time, just gave him a sympathetic smile. “Would you like to fight me for it?” 

“But I thought house cats were largely submissive…” Sehun found himself whining, and that pulled a smile out of the hybrid that dazzled him. 

“Who ever said I was a _house_ cat, Sehun?” He teased, before going to pull his fingers free of the other. “I’m a jungle cat. I take, I fuck,” he pulled off his boxers, tossed them aside, “I like my cuddles and scenting myself on you, sure. But I also like this.” Jongin went to settle overtop of the human, one hand pressing to his windpipe as his hardness pressed against Sehun’s thigh. 

“Oh,” his mouth went dry, and he couldn’t protest even if he had wanted to, “Well, alright.” 

Jongin’s cock pressed to his entrance after that, staying as the hybrid poured more lube onto himself. Sehun thought about asking for a condom, but the words had no time to leave his lips as Jongin pushed inside, the arm on his windpipe cutting off his air for a moment. 

“Fuck,” he swore breathlessly, hands clawing at the bed. The stretch was tight, and with the lack of air, all he could feel was Jongin pressing down on him, Jongin filling him up, pressing him so full that he thought they had either joined permanently, or he would have no room for the cum to go once he orgasmed. 

“You feel so good.” Jongin sounded satisfied, amused, and Sehun wondered what he looked like that the other spoke like that. “Am I alright to move?” 

“Give me a moment,” Sehun whined, forcing himself to relax, looking up at Jongin, who looked the most confident and comfortable he thought he had ever seen him. At least, when Jongin knew he was looking. 

Without thinking about it, his hand raised and cradled the side of Jongin’s face, the hybrid looking surprised, before smiling almost bashfully. 

“You’re gorgeous.” Sehun felt like he had to tell him, his eyes flickering up to Jongin’s ears, then down his chest, only to trail back up to appreciate his handsome face. “I wouldn’t change a thing.” 

“Corny much?” Jongin scoffed, though he couldn’t hide the way his flushed features seemed to get darker. 

“Ready.” Sehun answered, though it didn’t really follow. 

Nodding, Jongin leaned down, elbows going to rest on either side of Sehun’s head, and he rolled his hips up and in, driving his cock as deep as he could manage it from that position. 

They both gasped out, and Sehun grabbed at the body over top of him, one hand locking in his hair, the other clinging to his shoulder, wishing he could scratch him, though he kept his nails too short for that to be possible. 

“Sehun,” Jongin groaned, hips jerking forward a tad, “Relax, please.” 

Unable to think, Sehun focused first on his hands, then his chest, and then his abdominals relaxed, his hands going to smooth down the hybrid’s chest, down and up, over the muscles, down his arms. 

Jongin let him appreciate for a long moment, it hanging in the air between them with a shy tenderness; if anything, Sehun’s hunger outstretched any sexual arousal. He had wanted to touch, to feel like Jongin’s true equal for weeks, and now he finally felt like they were on an equal playing field. 

Amazingly, the hybrid let him, the moments dragging on, but when both of their arousals seemed to be fading, Jongin brought him back to the moment with a roll of his hips, before Sehun realized that he needed so much more than just the ability to touch. 

Grabbing for him again, this time with a greed that he didn’t bother to contain, he begged, “Fuck me, please.” 

Jongin obliged; one of his hands went to grab Sehun’s hip with a harsh grip, holding him in place as he fucked him, hips snapping, moving faster and faster with each cycle, Sehun’s cock throbbing between them as Jongin filled him up over and over. 

Sehun could have been there all day, frankly; but it was over for him the moment Jongin’s free hand locked in his hair, yanking his head back to expose his neck. He wasn’t sure if that was just Jongin’s quirk, wanting to make him look more submissive or if it actually meant something, but it made him squirm down on the cock splitting him open, his own need nearly making him sob out. 

“God, you smell so good.” Jongin growled, before going down to nuzzle into his neck, teeth nipping over the pale skin. 

Sehun didn’t know what came over him, but the next thing he knew, he begged, “Bite me, please.” 

Jongin stilled, and any other time he would worry that he crossed a line, but his arms, weakened from a good fucking, tried to hold him in place, Sehun just knowing that a little pain would probably be the catalyst he needed to cum. 

After a moment, Jongin seemed to sense that, and he leaned down, biting down sharply, not quite drawing blood, though it hurt enough that Sehun cried out, muscles tensing as he spilled his seed up over his stomach, painting his chest with the sudden, wonderful release. 

Slumping back against the bed, aftershocks zinging through his system as Jongin continued to fuck him, he whispered, “Jongin, god, Jongin…” 

It wasn’t long after that the hybrid released, as well, nails dragging down Sehun’s chest, eliciting a high pitched cry that the human could feel the reaction to inside of himself. 

Arching himself against the other, he begged shortly, “Again,” and with the repetition, he felt the hybrid spill inside of him, filling him up so full that he thought he might get hard again just from that. 

The deed done, the room reeked of sex, and Jongin slipped out of him, settling on top of him much in a way very reminiscent of an actual cat. 

Sehun slung his arms around the other’s naked torso, satisfied and spent, glowing. 

He looked up at the other, and seeing a twin expression on his face, he wanted to give into the happiness, the warmth. 

But instead, he started to think about how much he wanted this again. 

Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Is this the start of something? Or is this casual?” 

Jongin blinked down at him, adjusting his head so Sehun could see the glazed look in his eyes. The hybrid’s tail and came to rest over his arms, and Sehun let out a shaky exhale, touched to be given that kind of trust. 

“What would you like it to be?” Jongin returned. 

Sehun was done trying to be coy or careful; “I would like this to be a thing. Boyfriends.” 

Jongin waited, seeming to sense there was more, and Sehun went on, “But you kissed Kyungsoo not too long ago…I don’t want…if you would rather…” He couldn’t finish, hoped his meaning was clear enough. 

The hybrid let out a gentle laugh. “We’re not compatible, Sehun. I would—” 

“Then why did you kiss him back?” Sehun hated how the warmth, the comfort was starting to slip away. 

Jongin shot him an unimpressed look. “He’s a great guy. But we’re both dominant people. Submitting isn’t an act of trust or sign of being comfortable with each other when it’s a competition, and that’s how it was with him. Sexually, we would fight so bad we would injure each other. I don’t want a relationship like that. He’s a great guy.” Jongin looked down at him meaningfully, “But I like someone else. Someone who has worked his ass off to try to think and understand, someone that I’m always excited to see even though I live with him.” 

Sehun’s heart skipped a beat, and Jongin went on, “And if you weren’t such an idiot sometimes, you would have heard that I was about to agree to be your boyfriend.” 

“Wait, really?” Sehun completely ignored the slight jab, “You want to?” 

“No, I lied.” Jongin deadpanned, and this time Sehun did smack his chest. 

“Say it again, as punishment for being a jerk.” Sehun gave him a look. 

“I want to be your boyfriend, Oh Sehun.” 

“Good.” 

They laid there for a triumphant moment, until Sehun broke the silence. “So can I touch your ears now?” 

“Don’t push it.” 

“Alright, that’s cool.”

**Author's Note:**

> A guide to the hybrid characters:  
> \- Heo Solji | orange tabby  
> \- Jung Soojung | honey badger  
> \- Kim Eunyoung "Cheetah" | cheetah  
> \- Zhang Yixing | spider monkey  
> \- Do Kyungsoo | mouflon  
> \- Kim Jongin | jungle cat
> 
> After going back to read the prompt, I realized a fic that utilizes discrimination as a major plot point might be a bit heavier than the prompter wanted?? I hope it was still satisfactory even so ;;


End file.
